Presented 


4^  ' • 0 

ShcotofliY#/ 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


by 


c)Y\<2s  C\\A^ 


nor, 


Division 


Section  


‘ion  V 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


\ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/farnorthinindiasOOwats 


Hindu  Tempi.e  at  Pathankot 


Far  North  In  India 


A SURVEY  OF  THE  MISSION  FIELD  AND  WORK 
OF  THE  UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 
IN  THE  PUNJAB 


BY 

WILLIAM  B.  ANDERSON 


AND 


CHARLES  R.  WATSON 


ILLUSTRATED 


The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


Copyright,  1909,  bt 

THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


OF  THB 

UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  O ¥ 
NORTH  AMERICA 


To 

THOSE  WHOSE  LIVES  ARE  ALREADY  BUILT 
INTO  CHRIST’S  KINGDOM  IN  INDIA 
AND  TO 

THE  YOUNG  MEN  AND  WOMEN  OF  AMERICA, 
TO  WHOM  IS  ENTRUSTED  THE 
SOLEMN  RESPONSIBILITY  OF  WINNING 
INDIA  FOR  CHRIST 


PREFACE 


Foe  many  years  the  need  has  been  felt  for  a 
handbook  which  would  portray,  in  broad  out- 
line, both  the  character  of  the  field  and  the 
development  of  the  Mission  in  India,  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  of  N.  A.  In  at- 
tempting to  present  a picture  of  this  field  and 
Mission,  the  illuminating  and  popular  method 
has  been  followed  which  is  so  widely  used  by 
the  Young  People’s  mission  study  movement 
of  our  country.  A sketch  of  the  country  and  of 
its  people,  together  with  a brief  historical  sum- 
mary and  a survey  of  the  religions  of  the  land, 
has  been  first  presented.  An  acquaintance  is 
thus  formed  with  the  mission  field,  its  outstand- 
ing characteristics,  and  the  conditions  of  mis- 
sionary work.  At  this  point  the  story  of  mis- 
sionary effort  is  introduced,  with  the  hope  that 
the  earlier  chapters  will  lend  coloring  and  life 
to  what  must  necessarily  be  the  briefest  sort  of  a 
summary. 


vn 


PREFACE 


viii 

Two  facts  present  difficulties  which  have  not 
been  wholly  overcome,  and  which  leave,  there- 
fore, their  impress  on  almost  every  chapter. 
On  the  one  hand,  the  subject  treated  is  not 
wholly  distinct  and  separable  from  other  sub- 
jects. Although  comprising  a population  as 
large  as  that  of  Pennsylvania,  the  mission  field 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  is  but  a 
section  of  the  great  Province  of  the  Punjab; 
and  this  Province  is  itself  only  a limited  section 
of  the  whole  of  India.  The  Punjab  has  been 
generally  selected  as  the  unit  for  description 
under  the  several  headings  of  Country,  People, 
History,  Religions.  Some  references  have  been 
made  to  matters  relating  to  other  sections  of  the 
country,  or  to  India  as  a whole,  to  assist  the 
reader  in  keeping  the  true  perspective.  Never- 
theless, caution  should  be  used  in  any  general- 
ization, for  what  may  be  true  of  one  section,  or 
province,  may  not  apply  at  all  to  another.  A 
chapter  has  also  been  introduced  to  relate  the 
missionary  work  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  to  the  great  missionary  movement  in  all 
India,  of  which  it  is  a part. 

The  other,  and  chief  difficulty  experienced, 
was  that  of  bringing  within  the  limits  of  a small 
book  the  double  sketch  of  missionary  conditions 
and  of  missionary  work.  This  book  cannot  lay 
any  claim  to  thoroughness  of  treatment.  Its 


PREFACE 


IX 


value  must  lie  in  the  direction  of  its  compre- 
hensive, though  not  detailed,  treatment  of  a 
great  enterprise.  This  extreme  limitation  of 
space  and  the  largeness  of  the  subject  presented, 
will  account  for  innumerable  omissions  both  in 
the  description  of  the  field  and  the  narrative  of 
missionary  work. 

The  book  is  sent  forth  with  the  earnest  hope 
and  prayer  that  it  may  advance  the  Kingdom  of 
our  Lord,  and  hasten  the  day  when  the  “ diadem 
of  India”  shall  be  given  unto  Him  Who  is  alone 
worthy  to  receive  it. 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  Paga 

I.  The  Country.  By  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Anderson  . 15 

II.  The  People.  “ “ “ “ “ . 39 

III.  The  History.  “ “ “ “ “ . 75 

IV.  The  Religions.  “ “ “ “ “ . 103 

V.  General  Survey  of  Missions.  . . .135 

By  the  Rev.  C.  R.  Watson 

VI.  Early  Days  of  the  Sialkot  Mission.  “ “ 175 

VII.  Recent  Missionary  Work.  “ “ 225 

VIII.  Final  Triumph.  “ “ 263 

Appendix  I.  Census  Statistics  of  India  . . 292 

II.  Statistics  of  Sialkot  Mission  Field  . 293 

III.  Statistics  of  Sialkot  Mission  . . 294 

IV.  Rules  for  Pronunciation  . . 299 

V.  Glossary  ....  300 

VI.  Bibliography  . . . 307 

INDEX 310 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Facing 

Page 


Hindu  Temple  at  Pathankot  . 

. 53 

Typical  Unirrigated  Jungle  Land 

. 24 

Group  of  Jungle  People  . 

. 35 

Court  of  Punjabi  Peasant’s  Home 

. 48 

Purdah  Women 

. 56 

Village  Women 

. 56 

Tomb  of  Ranjit  Singh 

. 91 

Typical  Indian  Fakirs 

. 113 

Mohammedan  Mosque 

. 121 

Hindu  Priest 

. 121 

Golden  Temple  at  Amritsar 

. 128 

William  Carey 

. 161 

Alexander  Duff 

. 161 

Sialkot  City  Boys’  School 

• 

. 169 

Founders  and  First  Workers  . 

. 184 

Congregation  of  Village  Christians 

. 221 

Missionary  Itinerating 

. 232 

Pasrur  Workers  at  Dinner 

. 232 

Memorial  Hospital  at  Sialkot  . 

. 253 

Gordon  Mission  College  . 

. 253 

Missionaries  at  Annual  Meeting 

. 256 

The  United  Presbyterian  Synod  of  the  Punjab 

. 272 

Girls’  Industrial  Home  . 

. 280 

Famine  Children 

. 280 

Diagrams,  etc.  . . pages  62,  63,  192,  269,  276,  277 

Map  of  Mission  Field End  of  Book 


THE  COUNTRY 


“ And  I saw  the  blue,  holy  Ganges,  the  eternally  radiant 
Himalayas,  the  gigantic  banyan  forests,  with  their  wide,  leafy 
avenues,  in  which  the  clever  elephants  and  the  white-robed  pil- 
grims peacefully  wander;  strange,  dreamy  flowers  gazed  at  me 
with  mysterious  meaning ; golden,  wondrous  birds  burst  into  glad, 
wild  song.” — Heine. 

“ Truly,  to  understand  the  facts  of  work  for  Christ  in  any  land, 
we  must  strip  it  of  all  romance  and  of  everything  which  is  unreal.  ’ ’ 
— Miss  S.  S.  Hewlett , India. 

“ For  as  the  earth  bringeth  forth  its  bud,  and  as  the  garden 
causeth  the  things  that  are  sown  in  it  to  spring  forth  ; so  the  Lord 
Jehovah  will  cause  righteousness  and  praise  to  spring  forth  be- 
fore all  the  nations.” — Isaiah. 


I 


THE  COUNTRY 

FOR  the  past  three  centuries  European 
nations  have  been  entering  India 
through  the  back  door.  This  en- 
trance to  India  is  very  well  suited  for  business 
purposes,  the  harbors  are  good,  the  construction 
of  railways  has  been  easy,  the  country  is  densely 
populated,  and  all  things  have  lent  themselves 
to  utility,  as  they  should  for  the  traffic  of  the 
back  door.  At  this  time  our  interest  is  cen- 
tered in  the  northern  end  of  India,  where 
around  the  noble  front  entrance  we  may  find 
less  of  the  commercial  interest,  but  where  is 
found  the  richest  of  India’s  ancient  historic 
legend,  and  poetry  and  art. 

India  is  a kite-shaped  tract  of  land  wonder- 
fully shut  out  from  the  rest  of  the  world  and 
shut  in  to  herself,  by  the  ocean  on  the  southern 
sides,  and  the  mountains  on  the  northern  sides. 
To  early  India  the  southern  oceans  meant  the 
end  of  the  world,  except  for  a little  struggling 
trade  carried  on  by  ships  from  far  away  lands 
that  seemed  to  her  like  dreams,  and  her  con- 
nection with  the  outer  world,  as  much  as  she 
2 . 17 


Dawn  of 
History 


18 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


had  of  it,  was  from  the  north.  Here,  away  in 
the  extreme  northern  point  between  the  tower- 
ing snow-capped  columns  of  the  Himalayan 
walls,  has  been  built,  by  the  Architect  of  the 
continents,  the  front  door  of  India.  This 
majestic  entrance  is  called  the  Khyber  Pass. 
From  ages  away  beyond  the  most  ancient  mem- 
ories of  history,  it  has  been  the  door  through 
which  pilgrims,  and  traders,  and  armies,  and 
colonies  have  entered  the  enchanted  land  to  the 
south. 

The  land  in  which  we  are  now  particularly 
interested,  the  Punjab,  lies  in  the  northern 
part  of  this  great  kite-shaped  tract,  and  so 
has  been  the  part  of  India  nearest  to  the  rest 
of  the  world.  It  must  have  been  its  pleasant 
mountain  valleys  and  fertile  fields  which  first 
attracted  the  white  races  from  central  Asia. 
As  the  Punjab  was  the  first  seat  of  empire  of 
the  white  race,  it  was  its  civilization  which 
spread  over  the  rest  of  India.  In  it  are  the 
ruins  of  the  oldest  cities  in  the  land.  On  its 
hills  and  by  its  streams  were  written  the  Vedic 
Hymns,  which  have  been  the  sacred  scriptures 
of  the  Hindu  peoples  for  thousands  of  years. 
Controlling  the  entrance  to  the  whole  land,  it 
was  able  through  the  centuries  to  gain  much 
from  the  passing  trade.  While  it  had  to  bear 
the  brunt  of  unnumbered  attacks  from  the 


THE  COUNTRY 


19 


north,  it  had  the  advantage  of  the  mingling  of 
the  blood  of  races  through  the  colonists  left  by 
each  wave  of  empire  that  swept  over  it. 

From  a present-day  point  of  view,  the  Pun- 
jab, because  the  last  reached  and  the  last  con- 
quered of  British  possessions,  is  often  thought 
to  be  among  the  less  important  of  India’s  prov- 
inces; but,  certainly  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  past,  and  probably  also  from  the  point  of 
view  of  promise,  she  is  the  most  important  of 
them  all. 

India  has  taken  her  name  from  the  river 
that  must  first  be  crossed  after  entering  the 
Khyber  Pass — the  Sindh,  or  Hind,  or  Ind,  now 
called  the  Indus.  The  oldest  name  for  the 
river  seems  to  be  Sindh,  but  why  it  was  so 
named  cannot  even  be  surmised  with  any  satis-  Name 
faction.  Flowing  into  the  Indus  river,  there 
is  the  fan-shaped  system  of  rivers — the  Sut- 
lej, the  Beas,  the  Ravi,  the  Chenab,  and  the 
Jhelum — from  which  the  Province  takes  its 
name ; for  ages  past,  it  has  been  the  land  of  the 
Panj  (five)  Ab  (rivers). 

The  Punjab  is  a rude  triangle  having  for  its 
sides  the  Indus  River,  the  Himalaya  Moun-  Area 
tains,  and  a line  running  east  and  west  to  inter- 
sect these.  The  southern  line  is  greatly  curved 
inward  by  the  State  of  Rajputana,  and  the 
northeastern  by  the  State  of  Kashmir.  The 


20 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


area  of  all  India  is  1,766,642  square  miles. 
That  of  the  Punjab  is  128,706  square  miles,  or 
“a  little  larger  than  the  combined  territories  of 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  New  Jersey, 
and  Delaware.”* 

While  all  India  is  only  about  three-fifths  the 
size  of  the  United  States,  she  has  a population 
Population  about  four  times  as  large.  Her  population  in 
the  census  of  1901  was  294,361,056.  This 
gives  to  all  India  a population  of  167  persons 
to  the  square  mile.  The  population  of  the 
Punjab  in  1901  was  24,754,737,  with  an  aver- 
age density  of  180  to  the  square  mile,  and  a 
maximum  density  of  650.  This  density  of 
population  will  mean  more  to  one  who  re- 
members that  the  density  in  the  United  States 
is  only  21.4  to  the  square  mile.  Again,  in  con- 
sidering the  density,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  there  are  great  tracts  that  are  most  sparsely 
settled.  Arable  land  being  thus  limited,  makes 
the  great  population  a burden  to  the  land,  as  In- 
dians are  so  largely  an  agricultural  people.  It 
may  be  noted  that,  while  in  England  over  one- 
half  of  the  population  lives  in  cities  of  over 
20,000  inhabitants,  in  India  less  than  one-fifth 
of  the  population  lives  in  cities  of  such  size. 
From  the  earliest  dawn  of  history  the  Aryan 


* Robert  Stewart,  “Life  and  Work  in  India,”  p.  96. 


THE  COUNTRY 


21 


has  been  known  as  a farmer.  Perhaps  his  dear- 
est and  most  familiar  gods  have  been  Indra,  the 
god  of  the  heavens,  or  of  rain,  with  his  spouse 
Sita,  the  fruitful  goddess  of  the  furrow.  Even 
the  rural  population,  however,  does  not  live  in 
isolated  farmsteads,  as  in  Western  countries,  but 
in  small  villages.  While  so  small  a proportion 
of  India’s  population  lives  in  large  cities,  about 
90  per  cent,  of  it  lives  either  in  cities  or  vil- 
lages. India  is  really  a great  nation  of  vil- 
lages. 

Geologists  tell  us  that  at  one  time  the  Hima- 
laya Mountains  were  the  shore  of  the  Indian 
Ocean,  and  that  the  plains  of  India  were  the 
floor  of  the  sea.  When  traveling  hundreds  of 
miles  across  India,  with  the  plains  losing  them- 
selves on  every  side  in  the  hazy  distance,  with 
no  relief  of  mountain  or  even  rolling  prairie, 
one  can  even  now  easily  imagine  oneself  look- 
ing over  the  great  level  reaches  of  the  ocean.. 
India  consists  of  a vast  plain,  with  a line  of 
hills  along  the  southwestern  coast  and  across 
the  center  from  east  to  west.  Cross  this  plain 
in  a direct  line  for  700  miles  to  Jhelum 
near  the  northern  border  of  the  Punjab,  and 
you  have  risen  only  about  700  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  but  you  stand  facing  the  great 
Himalayan  Mountains  with  their  foothills  less 


Mountains 
and  Plains 


22 


EAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Rivera 


than  a hundred  miles  away,  and  their  peaks  of 
perpetual  snow  towering  15,000  feet  above. 

The  Punjab  is  really  the  creation  of  these 
mighty  mountains  and  of  the  five  rivers  which 
they  give  her,  and  from  which  she  takes 
her  name.  Host  of  the  surface  of  the 
Province  to  the  south  and  east  is  made  up  of 
broad,  flat,  sandy  plains  lying  between  the 
rivers,  while  the  northeastern  border  and 
northern  point  are  made  up  of  broken  spurs 
of  the  mountains,  standing  out  barren  and  for- 
bidding, but  often  sheltering  smiling  mountain 
valleys.  The  view  of  the  mountains  and  plains 
from  the  mountain  tops  is  most  sublime.  The 
hills  slope  quickly  away  to  the  plains,  and  the 
plains  melt  far  out  into  the  distance,  giving 
such  a panorama  of  hill  and  valley  and  watered 
plain  as  could  be  imagined  from  no  other  place 
than  a balloon. 

The  rivers  through  most  of  the  year  present 
the  appearance  of  a broad  strip  of  sand  lying 
a few  feet  lower  than  the  surrounding  country. 
Cutting  sluggishly  through  this  bed  of  sand  is 
a cloudy  stream  of  water.  One  wonders  if 
these  are  the  famous  rivers  that  make  the 
Province.  In  the  months  of  the  summer  rains, 
however,  these  cloudy  streams  become  wide 
rolling  floods,  covering  the  sandy  beds  from 
side  to  side,  and  sometimes  going  far  afield. 


THE  COUNTRY 


23 


The  increase  of  the  volume  of  water  is  not  only 
very  marked  but  often  very  rapid,  not  only  be- 
cause of  the  great  downpours  of  the  monsoon 
season,  but  because  the  water  is  shed  into  these 
streams  from  vast  tracts  of  precipitous  moun- 
tain sides.  Often,  in  a day,  hundreds  of 
parched  beds  of  dried  mountain  streams  will 
become  foaming  torrents  rushing  toward  the 
rivers  and  swelling  them  to  mighty  floods. 

The  soil  of  the  plains  is  fertile,  and,  in  the 
climate  which  prevails,  will  yield  a maximum 
of  harvest  with  a modicum  of  work,  provided 
always  that  there  is  abundant  water  supply. 
In  the  plains  of  the  Punjab,  the  farmer  is  de- 
pendent for  the  chief  harvests  upon  water  sup- 
plied from  wells  or  from  the  canals  fed  by  the 
rivers.  The  land  is  farmed  in  the  most  primi- 
tive way.  There  are  vast  tracts  of  country  in 
an  almost  rainless  region,  that  lie  over  sections 
where  wells  would  be  too  deep  for  irrigation  by 
cattle  power.  Millions  of  acres  of  such  land 
have  been  redeemed  through  the  canals  opened 
by  the  government  in  recent  years.  Simply 
by  supplying  water  and  plowing  and  sowing, 
these  deserts  have  been  converted  into  the  rich- 
est fields  of  waving  grain. 

There  are  almost  no  forests  in  the  Punjab. 
Many  centuries  since,  the  great  forests  that 
once  existed  were  destroyed  for  fuel  and  build- 


Soil 


24 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Forests 


Climate 


ing.  The  government  is  making  strenuous  ef- 
forts to  preserve  what  forests  remain,  and  does 
much  to  encourage  the  planting  and  preserva- 
tion of  trees.  Every  government  road  and 
many  village  roads  are  lined  with  trees  which 
make  some  little  provision  for  needed  wood, 
and  make  a grateful  shade  for  travelers  from 
the  burning  Indian  sun. 

In  considering  the  climate  of  India,  it  is 
necessary  to  remember  the  vast  extent  of  India. 
From  the  southern  point  at  Ceylon  in  the  south, 
to  the  northern  point  of  the  Punjab,  is  over 
2,000  miles.  While  southern  India  is  tropi- 
cal, with  Ceylon  lying  only  about  five  degrees 
from  the  equator,  the  northern  Punjab  is  as 
well  up  in  the  temperate  zone  as  is 
Georgia.  Thus  it  may  easily  he  understood 
that  a thing  stated  quite  truly  of  the  climate 
of  Ceylon  might  be  utterly  false  of  the  climate 
of  the  Punjab.  Just  as  what  would  be  true  of 
Florida  might  easily  not  be  true  of  Maine. 
Moreover,  there  are  conditons  of  mountains 
and  deserts,  and  winds,  that  make  the 
understanding  of  the  climatic  conditions  of  the 
greater  part  of  India  exceedingly  difficult. 
Ceylon,  with  its  tropical  situation,  ocean  winds, 
and  distance  from  the  desert,  has  a constantly 
hot  climate.  The  Punjab,  2,000  miles  to  the 
north,  has  a much  hotter  summer,  because  of 


Typical  Unirrigated  Jungle  Land 


THE  COUNTRY 


25 


the  desert  winds  and  the  absence  of  ocean  in- 
fluences, but  it  has  a cool  winter. 

The  year  in  the  Punjab  is  divided  into  two 
seasons,  the  hot  season  and  the  cold  season.  Al- 
though the  month  of  March  is  often  hot  to  the 
European,  the  hot  season  cannot  be  said  to 
begin  until  April.  Rain  is  very  rare  in  March, 
and  one  might  say  that  it  never  rains  from  the 
first  of  April  till  about  the  end  of  June. 
In  April  the  wheat  is  harvested,  and  also  other 
grains  that  may  be  in  the  fields  at  that  time; 
through  May  and  June  the  ground  is  bare  and 
baked.  Every  blade  of  grass  and  every  plant 
that  cannot  reach  down  many  feet  to  the  mois- 
ture below,  is  burned  up.  Except  for  the  dusty 
green  of  the  trees  and  shrubs,  the  landscape  is 
as  desolate  as  that  of  the  most  desolate  winter 
at  home. 

During  these  months  the  hot  wind  blows. 
It  is  the  desert  wind  from  the  southwest,  and 
its  heat  simply  cannot  be  imagined  by  a Wes- 
terner, nor  compared  to  anything  but  a blast 
from  a furnace.  Stepping  from  the  cool  shade 
of  the  bungalow  into  this  hot  wind,  one  will 
sometimes  experience  a sensation  of  “ taking 
away  the  breath,”  something  like  that  expe- 
rienced on  stepping  from  a warm  room  into 
a sharp  wind  in  zero  weather.  This  wind, 
while  fiercely  hot,  is  very  dry  and  pure,  so  it 


Intense 

Heat 


26 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


is  not  so  oppressive  as  it  would  otherwise  be. 
The  temperature  steadily  rises  during  the 
months  of  the  hot  winds  until  it  sometimes 
reaches  a point  as  high  as  120  degrees  in  the 
shade  in  the  Punjab,  while  at  Jacobabad,  just 
southwest  of  the  Punjab,  the  government  ther- 
mometer is  said  to  have  registered  as  high  as 
127  degrees. 

Not  only  is  the  sun  hot,  but  the  Indian  sun 
has  a peculiar  intensity  of  heat.  During  these 
months  its  rays  are  almost  unbearable,  while 
even  during  the  winter  months,  when  the  Wes- 
terner will  be  wearing  woolen  clothing  for  pro- 
tection from  the  wind,  he  must  never  go  into  the 
sun  without  having  his  head  protected  from  its 
rays  by  a pith  helmet  or  a hat  of  double  felt. 
Such  conditions  of  heat  as  these  make  neces- 
sary, for  the  Westerner,  houses  that  will  pro- 
tect him  from  the  sun  and  the  hot  wind.  For 
this  reason  the  houses  of  Europeans  in  India 
are  built  with  walls  about  two  feet  thick,  with 
very  high  ceilings,  and  with  flat  tile  roofs 
covered  with  about  six  inches  of  earth.  The 
rooms  must  also  be  spacious,  for  at  this  season 
of  the  year  the  house  must  be  kept  tightly 
closed  from  morning  until  evening. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  season  of  the  hot 
winds,  even  the  nights  do  not  seem  to  offer  re- 
lief, except  from  the  glare  of  the  sun.  In  his 


THE  COUNTRY 


27 


own  climate  the  Westerner  knows  that  the  hot 
wave  is  a “wave,”  and  that  it  will  shortly  pass, 
but  in  India  he  knows,  with  practical  certainty, 
that  each  day  will  be  hotter,  and  each  night 
more  stifling  than  the  last,  until  the  longed- 
for  monsoon  comes  with  its  relief  toward  the 
end  of  June. 

The  monsoon  season,  or  the  season  of  the  sum- 
mer rains  in  the  Punjab,  begins  between  the 
20th  of  June  and  the  10th  of  July.  After 
waiting  for  long  weeks  for  the  coming  of  the  J01J)„Mon 
rain  with  its  accompanying  coolness,  some  day 
in  the  midst  of  the  fierce  heat  there  is  heard  a 
distant  noise  like  the  booming  of  heavy  artil- 
lery. Very  gradually  it  becomes  a more  distinct 
and  continuous  rumble,  and  through  the  shim- 
mering haze  of  the  heated  plain  is  seen  advanc- 
ing a rolling  mass  of  copper-colored  clouds. 
Overhead  the  sky  is  blue,  and  all  around  there 
is  an  oppressive  and  ominous  calm,  but,  under 
the  mass  of  cloud  and  reaching  from  it  to  the 
earth,  is  a great  bank  of  copper-colored  dust, 
advancing  with  the  cloud.  As  the  mass  of 
cloud  nears  the  zenith,  the  spectator  is  enveloped 
in  a column  of  dust  and  runs  to  shelter.  Eor 
a little  time  there  is  almost  complete  darkness, 
and  then,  above  the  continuous  roar  of  thunder, 
there  is  heard  the  rattle  of  great  drops  of  rain 
on  the  baked  roof.  Then  the  rattle  becomes 


28 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


the  sound  of  a torrent  and  the  monsoon  has 
broken;  the  rain  may  last  without  cessation 
for  hours.  The  ground,  that  for  weeks  has  been 
baked  hard  in  the  sun,  is  then  covered  with 
pools  of  water. 

In  a few  days  the  ground  is  green  with  a 
rank  growth  of  grass  and  weeds  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  during  the  weeks  of  the  monsoon 
season  that  follow,  life  seems  to  burst  from 
every  side.  During  this  season,  from  the  end 
of  June  to  the  middle  of  September,  there  is 
rain  almost  every  day,  in  the  favored  parts  of 
the  province.  The  air  becomes  clear,  but  it 
is  now  so  full  of  moisture  that,  although  the 
temperature  is  not  so  high,  the  heat  is  very 
trying  and  enervating. 

It  is  at  the  end  of  this  season  that  the  climate 
is  most  cruel.  It  is  then  that  malaria  is  most 
prevalent.  In  the  month  of  September  it  is  most 
depressing  to  live  in  the  plains,  even  if  one  is 
not  suffering  from  fever,  for  so  large  a propor- 
tion of  the  population  will  be  so  suffering. 
This  malarial  fever  is  the  most  common  enemy 
of  the  European  in  India,  and  seems  to  be  that 
which  so  undermines  his  constittition  that  he 
falls  an  easy  victim  to  many  other  foes. 

The  “ cold  season  ” of  the  Punjab  may  be 
said  to  begin  with  the  middle  of  October 
(although  the  days  are  still  quite  hot),  and  to 


THE  COUNTRY 


29 


continue  until  the  end  of  March.  From  the 
first  of  November  until  the  middle  of  January, 
the  Punjab  has  perfect  weather.  It  is  like  an 
unbroken  Indian  summer.  Every  day  dawns 
radiantly,  and  passes  through  a cloudless  sky 
to  a rosy  setting.  Verdure  is  abundant,  the 
air  is  soft  and  pleasant,  and  all  things  combine 
to  make  the  land  a perfect  dream. 

Beginning  some  time  in  January  and  con- 
tinuing generally  a month  or  six  weeks,  is  the 
season  called  the  winter  rains.  Sometimes 
there  is  very  little  rain  during  these  weeks,  but 
the  sky  becomes  overcast,  and  the  air  is  gener- 
ally raw,  and  sometimes  even  piercing.  Some 
mornings  during  this  season  there  will  be  white 
frost,  and  sometimes  a sheet  of  ice  about  the 
thickness  of  a pane  of  glass  will  form  upon  ves- 
sels left  in  exposed  places. 

The  critical  point  in  the  climate  of  India  is 
the  monsoon.  It  is  the  monsoon  that  makes 
India.  When  there  is  a rainfall  there  will  be 
a harvest,  and  when  the  monsoon  fails  there 
will  be  famine. 

Compared  with  the  agricultural  products  the 
other  products  of  the  Punjab  are  insignificant. 
Of  all  products  the  largest  is  wheat,  of  which 
8,504,995  bushels  were  exported  in  1906.  The 
only  other  important  agricultural  products 
which  are  exported  in  quantities  are  cotton, 


Delightful 

Winter 


Commer- 
cial Pro- 
ducts 


30 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Animals 


sugar,  tea,  and  salt.  From  neighboring  states 
are  imported  clarified  butter,  timber,  wool, 
charas  (an  intoxicant  made  from  hemp),  fruits, 
rice  and  skins.  The  market  for  some  articles 
of  European  product  is  opening  rapidly,  but 
the  increase  in  the  use  of  such  articles  is  con- 
fined to  the  cities. 

There  are  five  large  cotton  factories  in  the 
Province,  and  a large  woolen  mill  at  Dhariwal, 
Gurdaspur  District.  There  are  large  flour 
mills  at  Delhi,  and  carpet  mills  at  Amritsar. 

Coal  is  taken  from  two  places  in  the  Salt 
Range,  and  shows  an  output  of  about  28,000 
tons  a year. 

Salt  is  a government  monopoly  and  is  taken 
from  the  salt  range  in  large  quantities. 

Among  the  wild  animals  of  the  Punjab  are 
the  tiger,  bear,  wolf,  leopard,  jackal,  deer,  ibex, 
and  monkey.  In  most  parts  of  the  Province, 
except  near  the  large  military  posts,  game  is 
abundant. 

As  in  all  other  parts  of  India,  reptiles  are 
numerous,  and  many  of  them  are  venomous. 
Among  the  most  common  and  poisonous  snakes 
are  the  deadly  cobra  and  Icarait. 

The  common  domestic  animals  are  the  ele- 
phant, the  camel,  the  buffalo,  the  horse,  the 
cow,  the  sheep,  and  the  goat.  Of  these,  the 
elephant  is  now  rarely  used,  while  the  camel 


THE  COUNTRY 


31 


is  one  of  the  most  popular  servants  of  man  in 
the  Punjab.  In  many  great  tracts  no  wheeled 
vehicle  is  ever  seen,  and  all  the  products  of  the 
country  are  carried  out  for  many  miles  on  the 
hacks  of  camels.  To  the  foreigner,  the  buffalo 
is  a great,  ugly  hulk  of  an  animal,  with  over- 
grown body  and  short  legs,  long,  curved  horns, 
and  pig-like  skin.  To  the  Punjabi,  it  is  a 
beautiful  and  much  beloved  pet.  It  is  a power- 
ful animal  and  is  used  everywhere  for  drawing, 
at  the  plow,  in  the  cart,  and  at  the  irrigating 
well.  The  buffalo  cow  gives  a large  quantity 
of  milk  which  is  much  like  cow’s  milk  in  taste 
and  consistency. 

The  cow  is  inferior  to  the  American  animal, 
and  has  a hump  over  the  shoulders.  The  ox 
is  much  used  as  a draught  animal. 

The  horse  is  small  and  inferior,  in  general, 
although  some  breeds  of  the  far  northwest  are 
quite  good,  and  the  government  is  doing  much 
to  develop  the  quality  of  the  stock. 

The  Punjab  is  one  province  of  the  general 
government  of  India.  The  one  to  whom  the 
rule  of  this  great  empire  of  India  is  entrusted 
by  the  Crown  is  called  the  Viceroy.  The  ad- 
ministration of  the  provincial  government  is 
conducted  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Viceroy,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  Crown.  The  Province  is  divided  into 


32 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Revenue 


Army 


Native 

States 


districts,  which  are  subdivided  into  tehsils* 
This  is  like  the  division  of  a state  into  coun- 
ties, and  of  counties  into  townships.  There 
are  in  this  Province  six  groups  of  districts  called 
circles,  having  over  each  an  officer  called  a 
Commissioner.  Each  district  has  an  officer  over 
it  called  a Deputy  Commissioner,  and  each 
tehsil  an  officer  called  a tehsildar.  There  are 
27  districts  in  the  Province,  and  an  average 
of  four  tehsils  to  a district.  The  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  the  Commissioners  are  all  Euro- 
peans. A few  of  the  Deputy  Commissioners 
are  Indians,  while  all  the  tehsildars  are  Indians. 
These  officers  are  both  executive  and  judicial. 
Apart  from  these  there  are  other  judges. 

The  highest  judicial  court  is  the  chief  court 
with  its  six  judges. 

In  the  service  of  the  civil  government  of  the 
Province  there  are  about  20,000  police. 

The  total  government  revenue  approximates 

$20,000,000. 

In  this  Province  is  stationed  an  army  of  ? 
about  20,000  British  soldiers,  and  46,000  native 
soldiers. 

Aside  from  the  territory  which  is  wholly 
under  British  rule,  are  the  native  states  which 
are  still  under  the  rule  of  their  native  princes — 


* Pronounced  tai-sil. 


THE  COUNTRY 


33 


in  regard  to  all  internal  affairs.  Of  these 
states,  there  are  34  in  the  Province. 

Of  course,  one  of  the  greatest  modern  de- 
velopments in  the  Punjab  has  been  the  rail-  Railways 
ways.  The  main  line  of  the  North  Western 
Railway  runs  through  the  east  of  the  Province 
from  Delhi  to  Peshawar,  a branch  line  runs 
from  Attock  to  Multan,  down  the  valley  of  the 
Indus  River  on  the  West,  and  joins  the  line 
running  from  Lahore  to  Karachi.  Beside  these 
there  are  many  other  branch  lines.  Altogether 
there  are  about  2,000  miles  of  railway  in  the 
British  part  of  the  province.  Owing  to  the 
nature  of  the  country  the  building  and  operat- 
ing of  railways  is  easy  and  cheap.  The  rail- 
ways and  telegraph  are  owned  by  the  govern- 
ment. 

Over  one-half  of  the  land  under  cultivation 
is  cultivated  by  means  of  irrigation,  either  from  irrigation 
wells  or  canals.  The  irrigation  from  wells  is  a 
slow  and  tedious  process.  The  water  is  raised 
to  the  surface  by  means  of  earthen  pots  bound 
to  ropes  which  run  over  a wooden  wheel  turned 
by  a sweep  power  which  is  operated  by  oxen 
or  bullocks.  The  government  has  opened  a 
large  system  of  irrigating  canals,  and  brought 
much  land  under  cultivation.  To  give  some 
general  idea  of  these  canals  the  following  is 
3 


34 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


quoted  from  an  article  by  Rev.  J.  Howard  Mar- 
tin :* 

" The  Chenab  Canal:  Work  was  begun 
in  1892,  the  canal  was  in  operation  by  1897, 
and  its  complete  report  was  presented  in  1904. 
It  is  250  feet  wide,  and,  counting  its  branches, 
has  10,000  miles  of  channel.  The  volume  car- 
ried is  11,000  cubic  feet  per  second.  This 
means  a river  of  300  feet  of  surface,  and  a 
depth  of  10  feet  flowing  at  a velocity  to  carry 
a discharge  about  six  times  as  large  as  that 
of  the  Thames  River.  Over  2,000,000  acres 
were  irrigated  last  year,  and  it  commands 
altogether  over  4,600  square  miles,  or  almost 
the  area  of  Connecticut.  The  cost  of  the  en- 
tire canal  was  something  over  $10,000,000. 
Ten  years  ago  the  region  through  which  this 
canal  runs  was  a desert.  The  water  lay  from 
80  to  120  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  soil. 
The  rainfall,  always  uncertain,  was  on  the 
average,  perhaps,  not  more  than  five  inches  in 
the  year.  With  the  exception  of  snakes  and 
lizards,  the  country  was  devoid  of  animal  life. 
One  might  travel  miles  in  death-like  silence. 
The  only  income  the  government  had  from  it 
was  a few  thousand  rupees  a year  for  grazing 
rights,  which  often  had  to  be  remitted  because 


* Annual  Report  on  Foreign  Missions,  1906,  p.  76, 


Group  of  Jungle  People 

Aboriginal  tribes  living  in  the  unirrigated  and  sparsely  populated  jungle  country, 


THE  COUNTRY 


35 


of  the  lack  of  rain.  The  inhabitants  were 
professional  horse  and  cattle  thieves,  to  govern 
whom  cost  almost  as  much  as  the  revenue.  The 
change  is  marvelous.  The  population  is  now 
something  like  a million,  over  200  per  square 
mile.  Look  in  what  direction  you  may,  it  ap- 
* pears  to  be  one  vast  field,  and  you  are  always 
in  sight  of  half  a dozen  villages.  The  land 
revenue  alone  is  -$3,500,000.  The  water  reve- 
nue pays  all  the  cost  of  the  up-keep  of  the  canal 
and  23  per  cent,  on  the  investment.  In  1901 
the  export  from  this  canal  region  to  Europe,  via 
Karachi,  was  $138,000,000.” 

The  opening  of  this  vast  irrigation  tract  has 
been  a matter  of  vast  importance  to  the  infant 
Church  in  India.  The  Church  in  the  Punjab  is 
made  up  largely  of  people  from  the  depressed 
classes  who  are  almost  serfs  of  the  soil.  The 
existence  of  these  people  under  the  old  order 
has  been  most  pitiable,  because  of  their  poverty 
and  degradation.  Mr.  Martin  points  out  how 
the  opening  of  this  region  has  given  employ- 
ment to  a vast  army,  and  how  in  ten  years 
the  wages  of  the  laboring  man  advanced  over 
250  per  cent.  This  has  drawn  thousands  of 
the  Christians  of  the  older  districts  to  the  new 
colonies  where  they  have  found  (for  them) 
lucrative  employment  and  comfortable  homes. 


36 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


United 
Presbyte- 
rian Mis- 
sion Terri- 
toi-y 


A great  number  of  them  have  also  become 
renters  of  land,  and  from  serfdom  have  risen 
to  be  their  own  masters. 

In  the  division  of  the  territory  by  the  con- 
vention of  missions,  the  territory  assigned  to 
the  United  Presbyterian  Church  includes  the 
following  civil  districts : Attock,  Rawal  Pindi, 
Jhelum,  Sargodba,  Lyallpur,  Gujranwala, 
Sialkot  (part),  Gurdaspur.  In  some  of  these 
districts  more  than  one  principal  station  has 
been  opened,  until  now  there  are  12  principal 
stations.  This  territory  does  not  form  a block 
regular  in  shape.  It  lies  in  a wide  strip  from 
the  Indus  River  on  the  west  in  the  point  of  the 
Punjab,  and  stretches  south  from  Attock  about 
200  miles  to  Lyallpur.  Then  almost  at  right 
angles  a narrower  strip  stretches  out  from  this 
to  the  east.  At  the  easternmost  point  of  this 
strip  is  Pathankot,  which  is  about  200  miles 
from  Lyallpur. 

Here  in  this  district  containing  24,223 
square  miles  with  its  5,075,000  of  population, 
centers  the  interest  in  India  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church.  The  providence  of  God 
and  the  courts  of  the  Churches  have  drawn  the 
lines  around  this  much  and  said  : “This  is  yours 
to  possess  for  Christ.”  We  have  said:  “We 
will  possess  it.”  To  those  who  have  looked 


THE  COUNTRY 


37 


upon  it,  it  seems  a goodly  land  and  one  to  be 
desired.  Oh,  that  we  might  arise  and  really 
possess  it  for  the  King! 


THE  PEOPLE 


“ This  work  in  India is  one  of  the  most  crucial 

tests  the  Church  of  Christ  has  ever  been  put  to.  The  people 
you  think  to  measure  your  forces  against  are  such  as  the  giant 
races  of  Canaan  are  nothing  to.” — Bishop  French , India  and 
Arabia. 

“Jehovah  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the 
meek  ; he  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  to  pro- 
claim liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to 
them  that  are  bound  ; to  proclaim  the  year  of  Jehovah’s  favor, 
and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God ; to  comfort  all  that 
mourn.  ’ ’ — Isaiah. 


n 


THE  PEOPLE 


THE  population  of  India  is  made  up  of 
people  of  two  races,  the  Aryan  and  the 
Dravidian.  Throughout  the  cities  and 
villages  of  India  these  races  exist  side 
by  side  with  their  strongly  marked  race  charac-  Two  Races 
teristics.  In  centuries  long  past  there  was  a 
mixing  of  races,  but  for  thousands  of  years  the 
races  have  existed  practically  without  intermar- 
riage because  of  the  strict  caste  rules  of  society. 

The  older  of  these  races  in  India  is  the  Dra-  T.1y?  Dr“- 
vidian.  This  name  is  derived  from  that  of 
an  ancient  kingdom  in  the  south,  and  is  used 
simply  for  want  of  a more  descriptive  name. 

About  all  that  is  definitely  known  of  their 
origin  is  that  they  are  a non-Aryan  race,  and 
were  in  India  before  the  Aryans  came.  It 
, seems  probable  that  about  4,000  years  ago  the 
; plains  of  India  were  inhabited  by  this  black 
race,  living  in  a rude  civilization,  and  subsisting 
by  hunting  and  a crude  agriculture.  Probably 
these  people  came  from  the  west  and  may  have 
been  related  to  the  races  of  most  ancient  Egypt 

41 


42 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Advent  of 
the  Aryan 


and  Assyria.  It  seems  quite  possible  that  they 
are  of  Hamitic  origin. 

In  the  eastern  hill  valleys  and  along  the  east- 
ern plains,  it  is  evident  that  from  time  to  time 
there  have  been  incursions  of  Mongolian  people, 
and  the  eastern  non- Aryan  races  of  to-day  show 
strongly  marked  Mongolian  race  characteristics. 

In  the  faintest  dawn  of  history  that  glimmers 
through  the  early  Vedic  hymns  are  allusions 
to  these  dark-skinned  races.  The  descriptions 
found  there  correspond  to  the  Dravidian  men 
of  to-day. 

Probably  about  2,000  years  before  Christ, 
there  came  stealing  down  through  the  north- 
western passes  of  India  a white  race  from  the 
high  plains  of  central  Asia.  It  is  not  known 
whether  these  Indo-European  invaders  were 
driven  from  their  own  land  through  some  unre- 
corded national  calamity,  or  whether  they  came 
prompted  simply  by  the  spirit  of  adventure  that 
is  so  characteristic  of  the  Indo-European.  For 
whatever  reason  they  came,  they  evidently  were 
charmed  with  the  sunny  valleys  of  the  northern 
Punjab,  and  resolved  here  to  pitch  their  tents, 
pasture  their  flocks,  and  till  the  fields. 

From  these  forefathers  has  sprung  the  Aryan 
race  that  has  spread  itself  all  over  India.  This 
Indian  is  blood  brother  to  the  Greek,  and  the 
Latin,  and  the  German,  and  the  British.  He 


THE  PEOPLE 


43 


at  once  began  to  rule  wherever  he  planted  his 
foot  in  India,  and  he  has  never  ceased  to  be  the 
ruler. 

The  Aryan  of  the  Punjab  is  likely  freest 
from  taint  of  the  despised  Dravidian  blood, 
for,  at  the  first  impact  of  the  races,  there  seems 
to  have  been  hot  encounter  and  bitter  race 
hatred.  From  the  first,  in  the  north,  the  abo- 
rigines were  either  driven  out  or  reduced  to  the 
condition  of  slavery.  The  race,  however,  has 
suffered  less  here  from  race  stagnation  than  in 
the  other  parts  of  India,  from  the  fact  that, 
from  time  to  time,  there  have  been  conquering 
races  coming  in  from  the  north,  and  leaving  a 
residue  as  governors  or  as  colonists.  In  the 
blood  of  the  Punjabi  will  be  found  strains  of 
the  blood  of  the  Tartar,  the  Scythian,  the  Per- 
sian, the  Afghan,  and  the  Greek. 

The  Aryan  of  the  Punjab  is  generally  of  a 
very  light  brown  complexion,  of  medium  height, 
slender  and  extremely  graceful.  His  features 
are  finely  chiseled,  his  hair  blue-black,  rather 
coarse,  and  straight.  His  eyes  are  large,  dark 
and  lustrous-  The  general  physical  effect  is 
much  more  one  of  grace  and  beauty  than  of 
strength. 

The  Dravidian  is  much  darker  in  complex- 
ion, heavier  in  build,  and  has  very  irregular 
features. 


The  Aryan 
of  the 
Puiyab 


44 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Men’s 

Costume 


Of  course,  between  these  two  distinct  types, 
there  are  the  lower  castes  of  the  Aryan  race, 
where  there  has  been  at  some  time  a mingling 
of  the  races. 

The  people  dress  in  cotton  garments,  either 
white,  or  dyed  in  very  bright  colors.  Both  men 
and  women  are  fond  of  the  most  brilliant  colors 
in  dress,  and  on  a holiday  the  streets  of  a city 
look  like  a flower  garden  full  of  the  brightest 
blooming  flowers.  Among  the  men  the  almost 
universal  head-dress  is  the  turban.  It  may 
range,  in  size  and  material,  from  a few  folds 
of  the  coarsest  cloth  around  the  head  to  many 
yards  of  the  richest  and  most  costly  fabric;  it 
may  be  a pure  white,  or  any  color  the  wearer 
may  fancy.  The  upper  garment  is  a long, 
loose  shirt,  which  is  worn  outside  the  trousers. 
The  lower  garment  differs  among  the  different 
people  of  the  Punjab.  Men  in  cities,  and  all 
men  in  the  extreme  north,  wear  very  loose, 
baggy  trousers  drawn  tight  at  the  ankles,  and 
in  the  case  of  some  Hindus  they  are  worn  very 
tight  from  the  knees  to  the  ankles.  On  the 
feet  are  worn  low  shoes  without  stockings, 
which  are  slipped  off  on  entering  a house,  or 
in  any  case  where  a Westerner  would  remove 
the  hat.  Often  the  men  of  the  south,  and 
always  the  peasants  of  the  south,  wear  a skirt 
formed  of  a single  piece  of  cloth  tied  in  a knot 


THE  PEOPLE 


45 


at  the  waist,  and  hanging  below  the  knees. 
These  four  garments  form  the  usual  suit  of 
clothes  of  the  Punjabi  man.  While  working  in 
the  field  or  at  his  trade,  he  will  lay  most  of 
them  aside.  In  the  warm  weather  it  is  the 
common  thing  for  a farmer  in  the  field,  or  a 
laborer,  to  lay  aside  all  but  the  loose  skirt,  and 
to  tuck  it  up  around  his  loins,  and  so  work 
almost  naked  in  the  hot  wind  and  the  blistering 
sun.  Of  course  there  are  variations  of  this 
dress.  Some  add  a vest  to  this  suit,  and  some 
a vest  and  coat.  Some  of  the  suits  of  the 
wealthy  are  most  gorgeous  with  colors  and 
needlework,  and  are  very  costly. 

Except  for  the  head-dress,  the  dress  of  the 
women  is  not  very  different  from  that  of  the 
men.  Instead  of  the  turban  the  woman  wears 
a scarf  or  shawl.  This  is  never  laid  aside  in 
the  presence  of  men.  It  may  be  white,  but  is 
usually  of  some  bright  color.  The  upper  gar- 
ment of  the  woman  is  a loose  blouse  hanging 
nearly  to  the  knees.  The  lower  garment  is  a 
loose  divided  skirt.  On  the  feet  are  worn  low 
shoes  without  stockings,  which  are  removed  on 
entering  the  house.  The  clothing  of  the  women 
seen  in  the  streets  is  generally  made  of  coarse 
and  cheap  material,  for,  even  among  the  Hindu 
women  who  may  venture  into  the  street,  it  is 
not  considered  in  good  taste  to  wear  in  public 


Women's 

Costume 


46 


EAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


anything  but  the  simplest  clothing.  Some  of 
the  garments  shown  to  the  ladies  in  the  zenanas, 
however,  are  of  the  finest  and  richest  material, 
the  material  for  which  India  has  been  famous 
for  ages.  One  suit  was  displayed,  made  of 
cloth  of  gold,  which  cost  R.200  (nearly  $70) 
a yard. 

Many  of  the  Indian  men  among  the  educated 
classes  are  beginning  to  wear  clothes  cut  after 
costume”  ^1G  European  fashion,  but  with  such  a suit  they 
almost  invariably  wear  the  turban,  or  fez,  on  the 
head.  Excepting  Christian  women,  Indian  wo- 
men always  wear  the  native  dress. 

The  homes  of  the  people  always  impress  one 
from  the  West  as  being  most  humble.  In  the 
Houses  villages,  and  in  many  parts  of  most  of  the 
cities,  the  walls  of  the  houses  are  made  of  sun- 
dried  brick,  and,  of  course,  are  plain  and  ugly. 
Even  the  houses  of  most  of  the  wealthy,  while 
built  of  burnt  brick,  are  straight-walled  shape- 
less, and  without  any  architectural  beauty. 
The  wonderful  Taj  Mahal  and  some  of  the 
beautiful  shrines  and  temples  of  India  strike 
one  as  marvels  of  beauty  amid  a great  mass  of 
monotonous  plainness. 

The  houses  of  the  poorest  of  the  people  are 
mere  huts,  with  mud  walls  and  an  earthen  roof 
supported  by  beams  of  crooked  wood.  The 
houses  of  the  ordinary  farmers  and  even  of  the 


THE  PEOPLE 


47 


more  well-to-do,  but  less  pretentious,  are  built 
of  sun-dried  brick.  There  is  a courtyard  at 
the  front  in  which  are  kept  cows,  and  horses, 
and  goats,  and  sheep,  and  chickens,  or  any  live 
stock  possessed.  In  fine  weather  this  is  the 
place  where  the  cooking,  and  sewing,  and  spin- 
ning, and  other  household  duties  are  performed. 
At  one  side  of  this  courtyard  is  the  dwelling 
containing  one  large  room  for  general  use.  In 
this  room  may  be  found  almost  anything  pos- 
sessed by  the  family.  From  this  room  usually 
open  one,  two,  or  three  small  rooms  whose 
only  light  and  ventilation  are  received  from 
the  general  living  room,  which  is  lighted 
and  aired  only  through  the  one  door.  If 
there  should  be  a window,  it  has  no  glass,  of 
course,  and  is  opened  only  on  rare  occasions. 
In  the  cold  weather  ventilation  is  a thing  un- 
thought of.  In  the  early  days  the  houses  in  the 
villages  were  built  compactly  for  mutual  pro- 
tection. The  need  of  this  is  now  past,  and  the 
Government  is  making  every  effort  to  teach  the 
people  to  construct  their  dwellings  on  more 
sanitary  principles.  In  the  canal  colonies 
where  the  Government  can  absolutely  control  the 
construction  of  dwellings,  the  villages  and  cities 
are  built  with  wide  streets,  and  every  house  has 
a large  courtyard. 

The  houses  of  the  wealthy  are  much  more 


48 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Home  Life 


pretentious,  but  as  has  been  said  they  are  not 
beautiful.  All  such  bouses  are  built  with  a 
view  to  the  seclusion  of  women.  At  the  front 
entrance  to  this  bouse  is  a vestibule  opening 
at  one  side  into  a room  called  the  gentleman’s 
sitting-room.  Here  the  man  of  the  house  re- 
ceives his  friends,  and  this  is  as  far  as  a man  - 
ever  goes  into  the  house  of  a friend,  unless  he 
be  a near  relative.  If  he  should  spend  the 
night  there,  he  will  likely  sleep  in  this  room, 
or  one  opening  from  it,  his  food  being  cooked 
within  and  sent  here  to  him  to  be  eaten.  Open- 
ing straight  through  the  vestibule  is  a door  that 
leads  into  the  courtyard.  In  the  less  preten- 
tious homes  of  the  rich,  this  is  the  living  and 
working  place  of  the  women,  and  this  is  the 
part  of  the  house  where  the  men  of  the  imme- 
diate family  come  to  eat  and  sleep.  Sometimes 
the  building  surrounding  this  court  is  only  one 
story,  and  sometimes  it  is  two  stories  high.  In 
these  courtyards  is  lived  that  home  life  of  India 
which  is  never  seen  by  foreign  men.  It  is  be- 
cause of  the  absolute  seclusion  of  these  homes 
that  some  of  the  workers  in  Indian  missions 
must  be  ladies.  In  the  more  pretentious 
houses  of  the  wealthy  there  may  be  two  or  even 
three  of  these  inner  courts,  opening  the  one  off 
the  other. 

Home  decoration  is  a thing  almost  unknown 


Court  of  Punjabi  Peasant’s  Home 
Which  serves  as  stable,  kitchen,  workshop  and  living  room. 


THE  PEOPLE 


49 


in  India.  The  houses  are  generally  large  and 
repulsively  bare.  If  a family  be  wealthy 
enough  to  possess  draperies  and  hangings,  as 
some  do,  these  things  are  carefully  folded  away 
from  the  dust  and  glare,  and  brought  out  only 
on  some  great  family  occasion. 

The  home  life  would  be  very  unattractive 
and  bare  indeed,  if  it  were  not  for  the  affection- 
ate nature  and  sunny  dispositon  of  the  Indian 
himself.  When  one  has  grown  accustomed  to 
the  surroundings,  much  domestic  beauty  may 
be  recognized  in  the  little  group  gathered 
around  the  evening  fire  in  the  courtyard,  if 
there  be  but  one  wife  in  the  home,  and  if  there 
be  children  there,  and  real  affection  between 
husband  and  wife. 

Entering  into  all  the  life  of  India,  social, 
political,  commercial  and  religious,  is  the  great 
institution  of  caste.  Caste  has  done  and  is 
doing  more  to  forge  the  chains  that  fetter  prog- 
ress in  India  than  all  other  agencies  in  India 
together.  While  caste  prejudices  and  customs 
have  to  some  extent  been  carried  over  into  Mo- 
hammedanism in  India,  there  is  no  such  institu- 
tion in  Mohammedanism  itself.  The  Hindu 
believes  that  the  human  race  is  divided  into 
four  great  divisions  as  follows : 1st,  the  Brah- 
mans. These  are  priests  and  are  said  to  be  born 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Creator.  They  are  to 
4 


50 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


be  implicitly  obeyed  in  all  things,  and  are  to 
be  worshipped  by  those  of  the  other  castes. 
2nd,  the  Kshatriyas.  These  are  the  kings  and 
warriors.  They  are  born  from  the  arms  of  the 
Creator,.  In  things  pertaining  to  the  govern- 
ment they  are  supreme,  but  must  act  on  the 
counsel  of  the  Brahmans  in  all  things  pertaining 
to  the  Brahmans,  or  to  religion.  3d,  the 
Vaisyas.  These  are  born  from  the  thighs  of 
the  Creator.  They  are  farmers,  tradesmen, 
and  craftsmen  of  the  upper  crafts.  4th,  the 
Sudras.  These  are  born  from  the  feet  of  the 
Creator.  They  perform  all  the  menial  services 
for  the  upper  castes. 

These  are  simply  the  great  divisions  of  caste. 
Each  caste  is  divided  into  almost  countless  sub- 
divisions. Among  the  Brahmans  alone  there 
are  1886  castes.  Among  the  Kshatriyas  there 
are  590  castes.  Altogether  there  are  over  3000 
castes,  the  members  of  which  may  not  inter- 
marry, and  generally  may  not  eat  with  those  of 
another  caste. 

While  the  above  explanation  is  the  mythical 
one  generally  accepted  and  believed  by  the 
people  themselves,  of  course  it  is  only  mythical. 
ori*hi  of  The  real  explanation  of  caste  is  no  doubt  to  be 
found  in  the  coming  together  of  two  races,  one 
of  which  was  much  superior  to  the  other  in 
power  to  subdue  and  rule,  and  which  had 


THE  PEOPLE 


51 


already  strong  racial  prejudices,  and  quickly 
developed  racial  hatred  and  a strong  contempt 
for  the  weaker  race.  From  the  time  of  the 
entry  of  the  Aryan  into  India  he  arrogated  to 
himself  all  the  position  of  the  favored  of  the 
gods,  and  the  heaven-born.  With  his  pride  of 
race  came  the  desire  to  keep  his  blood  pure 
from  the  taint  of  that  of  the  lower  race.  He 
only  could  he  counted  heaven-horn  who  was 
pure  from  taint  of  blood,  so  the  Brahman  is 
the  man,  presumably,  of  pure  Aryan  blood.  In 
spite  of  his  race  pride  and  his  desire  to  keep 
his  blood  pure,  he  found  that  his  race  inter- 
married with  the  lower  race.  There  would,  no 
doubt,  be  marriages  of  convenience  and  policy 
as  the  Aryan  of  the  North  came  into  contact 
with  the  stronger  aboriginal  nations  to  the 
south.  This  mingling  of  the  races  seems  to 
have  gone  on  to  such  an  extent  that  the  white 
man  could  no  longer  cut  himself  off  entirely 
from  the  mixed  races,  and  so  society  became 
graded.  There  was  the  outcaste  black  man. 
Then  there  was  the  mulatto,  a grade  better,  and 
then,  higher  in  the  series,  the  quadroon,  and 
the  octoroon,  and,  then,  the  heaven-born  Brah- 
man. Race  pride  was  so  strong,  and  race  jeal- 
ousy so  bitter  that,  finally,  laws  grew  up  that 
forbade  the  intermarriage  of  members  of  these 
castes  with  those  of  another,  and  that  forbade 


52 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Evils  of 
Caste 


the  inferior  man  to  touch  the  food,  even,  of  the 
superior,  and  the  man  of  the  superior  caste  to 
eat  the  food  so  touchedt 

This  caste  system  is  bound  to  strangle  the 
best  in  the  nation.  It  kills  the  best  in  the 
commercial  and  industrial  world  because  a man 
must  be  born  to  his  trade  or  his  pro- 
fession. He  can  have  no  ambition  to  rise  to 
anything  better.  Socially,  he  is  worse 
fettered.  His  every  act  is  regulated  by  caste 
rules ; what  he  eats  and  how  he  eats 
it ; whom  he  marries ; who  serves  him  and 
whom  he  serves;  restrictions  as  to  travel;  abject 
subservience  to  those  in  authority  over  him; 
every  act  and  thought  of  his  social  life  must  be 
regulated  by  caste  rules.  It  fetters  the  race. 
Marriage  must  be  within  limits  of  a narrow 
circle,  thus  cutting  off  the  race  from  the  vigor 
coming  to  it  through  wide  matrimonial  selec- 
tion. Spiritually  he  is  absolutely  bound.  He 
is  born  into  a caste  and  can  hope  for  no  deliver- 
ance in  this  life  from  all  that  it  may  mean. 
No  man  can  become  a Hindu,  he  must  be  born 
one.  The  only  hope  held  out  to  the  man  of  the 
lower  caste  is  that  at  the  next  birth  he  may  be 
born  into  a higher  one. 

India  to-day  is  writhing  helplessly  in  the 
chains  of  caste,  and  her  own  reformers  realize 
that  the  first  reform  that  must  be  effected  is 


THE  PEOPLE 


53 


to  free  her  from  this  system.  The  strength 
of  the  system  and  its  grinding  power  can  be 
understood  only  by  becoming  acquainted  with 
the  pitiable  condition  of  the  people  of  the 
lowest  caste,  or  outcasts,  and  the  tyranny 
practised  upon  them  by  those  of  the  castes  above 
them.  The  following  is  a quotation  from  an 
old  rule  concerning  the  treatment  of  Sudras : 

“ 1.  He  (the  Sudra)  must  amass  no  wealth 
lest  he  become  proud  and  give  pain  to  the 
Brahmans. 

“ 2.  If  he  use  abusive  language  to  one  of 
superior  caste  his  tongue  is  to  be  slit. 

“ 3.  If  he  advise  a Brahman  about  religious 
duties,  hot  oil  is  to  be  dropped  into  his  mouth 
and  ears.” 

The  religious  penance  for  killing  a Sudra 
was  the  same  as  that  for  killing  a cat,  dog,  frog, 
lizard,  or  various  other  animals. 

One  cannot  but  pity  the  high  caste  man  in 
his  slavery  to  his  caste,  but  one  can  scarcely 
control  his  indignation  when  seeing  the  abject 
slavery  of  the  low  caste  man  to  those  of  superior 
caste. 

Western  civilization  with  its  leveling  forces 
of  railway,  postal  system,  and  a new  order  of 
society,  and  Western  education  and  liberality 
of  thought,  to  say  nothing  of  Christian  ideals 
and  example,  are  doing  much  to  break  down 


Prevalence 
of  Caste 


54 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The 

Family 

System 


caste  in  India,  but  it  may  still  be  truly  said  of 
India  that  she  is  a groveling  slave  to  caste. 

Family  ties  in  India  are  very  strong.  The 
ancient  Hindu  form  of  government  was  patri- 
archal. The  father  of  the  home  was  not  only 
its  ruler,  but  its  priest,  and  he  continued  to  be 
such  as  long  as  he  lived.  In  India  the  father 
is  still  the  head  of  the  whole  family,  to  all  its 
generations,  as  long  as  he  lives.  When  sons 
marry,  they  ordinarily  bring  their  wives  to  the 
home,  and  all  continue  to  live  in  one  house. 
Property  that  is  accumulated  often  goes  into  a 
common  estate  to  be  divided  at  the  death  of  the 
father.  At  the  death  of  the  father,  the  oldest 
brother  becomes  the  head  of  the  family  and 
receives  honor  as  such  from  all  members  of  the 
family.  This  system  has  some  advantages  in 
ministering  to  economy  in  living,  but  its  gen- 
eral moral  effect  upon  the  members  of  the 
family  is  not  at  all  desirable.  When  Christian 
young  men  marry,  they  almost  invariably  estab- 
lish homes  of  their  own,  leaving  father  and 
mother,  and  cleaving  to  the  wife,  according 
to  the  teaching  of  the  Word,  and  the  effect  is 
easily  seen  in  Christian  society  in  India. 

The  family  system  has  had  one  beautiful 
effect  upon  Indian  society ; it  has  created  a very 
marked  reverence  for  parents,  and  for  old  age 
in  general.  A man  will  ordinarily  take  all 


THE  PEOPLE 


55 


manner  of  abuse  from  his  father  in  a spirit  of 
utter  meekness,  and  a big,  coarse,  wicked,  mur- 
derous looking  Afghan  has  been  seen  to  stand 
and  allow  his  angry  father  to  belabor  him  with 
a heavy  walking-stick,  without  making  any  sign 
of  protest  or  resentment. 

Children  are  generally  married  very  young. 
Sometimes  betrothal  takes  place  in  the  youngest 
infancy,  and  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for 
children  really  to  enter  the  marriage  relation- 
ship at  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve,  and,  indeed, 
it  is  not  at  all  unusual  for  girls  to  be  mar- 
ried younger  than  this.  Of  course  the  mar- 
riage ceremony  is  often  performed  when  they 
are  the  merest  children.  Indian  writers  and 
speakers  often  insist  that  these  marriages  are 
simply  a ceremony,  and  that  actual  marriage 
does  not  take  place  until  later  in  life.  One 
living  in  India,  however,  can  easily  testify  to 
the  fact  that  many  girls  are  actually  wives  at 
ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  and  there  are  little 
mothers  of  twelve  and  thirteen  years  of  age. 
There  are  very  plain  rules  among  the  Hindus, 
stating  that  girls  should  be  married  before  they 
have  passed  from  the  age  of  childhood.  A 
translation  of  one  of  their  rules  is  given  below : 
“If  she  (a  girl)  is  not  married  before  she 
becomes  a rajaswala  (i.  e.,  before  the  tenth 
year),  her  father,  mother  and  elder  brother  all 


Child 

Marriage 


56 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Seclusion  of 
Women 


of  them  shall  go  to  hell.”  (Quoted  from  Sat- 
yarath  Prakash,  P.90,  where  the  rule  is  contra- 
dicted.) The  doctors  in  mission  hospitals  tell 
tales  of  horror  about  these  child  marriages  that 
make  one  almost  ashamed  even  to  he  called 
human.  Among  Mohammedans  actual  mar- 
riage does  not  take  place  until  young  manhood 
and  womanhood.  Of  course  child  marriage  is 
never  countenanced  among  the  Christians. 

Very  generally  among  the  higher  families  of 
the  Mohammedans,  and  often  among  the  high- 
est families  of  the  Hindus,  the  women  of  the 
home  are  secluded.  The  seclusion  of  women 
seems  to  be  more  prevalent  in  the  Punjab  than 
in  the  countries  farther  south,  owing  to  strong 
Mohammedan  influence.  Mission  ladies  tell  of 
many  homes  visited  where  wives  have  been 
taken  in  as  girls,  and  never  have  seen  the  out- 
side world  again.  To  them,  the  world  has  been 
brick  walls  reaching  up  to  a blue  sky.  The 
consolation  of  the  secluded  woman  in  her  mode 
of  life  is  that  she  is  so  secluded  because  of  her 
husband’s  great  love  for  her,  and  his  jealousy 
over  her.  She  pities  or  despises  the  woman 
whose  husband  thinks  so  little  of  her  that  he  is 
willing  to  allow  her  to  go  about  in  public  to  be 
seen  by  other  men.  The  stuntedness  and  nar- 
rowness of  the  life  of  a woman,  so  shut  in  from 
the  world,  unable  to  have  intercourse  with  other 


Purdah  Woman  Village  Women 

Mohammedan  women  of  high  class  are  thus  closely  Typical  costume  of  peasant  women  in  the  Punjab, 

veiled  in  public.  


THE  PEOPLE 


57 


minds  even  through  reading  or  writing,  living 
out  her  narrow,  unwholesome  life  in  her  little 
family  world,  cannot  be  imagined. 

A convert  to  Christianity  from  a noble  fam- 
ily of  the  Punjab  who  had  been  reared  in  such 
a home,  was  asked  whether  he  did  not  think  the 
seclusion  of  women  a good  thing  for  the  pro- 
tection of  women  in  such  a land  as  the  India  of 
to-day.  He  replied  that  the  seclusion  of  wo- 
men, instead  of  being  a protection  for  the 
women  of  his  land,  was  a screen  to  hide  all 
manner  of  evil,  and  that  the  greatest  social 
blessing  that  could  be  conferred  upon  India 
would  be  to  remove  caste,  and  to  do  away  with 
the  seclusion  of  women. 

It  is  into  such  homes  as  these  that  the  zenana 
missionaries  go,  with  their  message  of  liberty, 
their  songs  of  joy,  and  their  faces  full  of  the 
love  of  God  and  the  tender  sympathy  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  place  of  woman  in  Indian  society  is  most 
unenviable.  By  the  laws  of  the  land  she  is 
practically  the  property  of  man.  In  Hindu 
society  she  is  married  in  childhood  to  protect 
her  from  the  brutality  of  man.  If  childless, 
she  may  be  superseded  by  another  wife.  If  her 
husband  should  die,  she  is  the  most  miserable  of 
creatures,  an  Indian  widow.  She  must  become 
the  drudge  in  the  home  of  some  relative  of  her 


Degrada- 
tion of 
Woman 


58 


EAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


husband,  and  she  may  never  marry  again.  In 
India  there  are  25,891,936  widows. 

If  a Mohammedan,  the  woman  may  be  one 
of  a number  of  wives,  and  may  be  divorced  by 
her  husband  in  a day,  on  the  slightest  pretext, 
or  without  any  pretext,  and  often  the  only  thing 
left  to  her  is  death  or  a life  of  shame.  Belong- 
ing to  any  caste  she  may  be  married  against  her 
own  will  to  some  most  cruel  man,  four,  five,  or 
even  six  times  her  own  age,  and  be  compelled  to 
live  with  him  until  his  death  plunges  her  into 
the  more  desperate  state  of  widowhood. 

It  must  not  be  understood  by  the  above  that 
all  women  in  India  are  miserable,  nor  that  all 
men  are  brutal.  In  many  homes  there  is  real 
love  and  domestic  happiness,  and  a marked 
characteristic  of  the  Indian  is  the  passionate 
fondness  of  parents  for  children,  but  the  posi- 
tion of  woman  is  such  that  her  happiness  must 
depend  on  the  whim  of  her  husband. 

The  contempt  with  which  women  are  looked 
upon  is  sometimes  expressed  to  missionaries 
when  they  attempt  to  open  schools  for  girls. 
The  men  will  say,  “ Why  do  you  open  a girls’ 
school  ? Can  you  teach  cattle  to  read  ? ” 

The  coming  of  the  East  into  contact  with  the 
West  is  changing,  though  very  slowly,  the  posi- 
tion of  woman.  Many  Christian  girls  are  well 
educated,  and  many  Hindus  and  Mohammedans 


THE  PEOPLE 


59 


are  now  desiring  to  marry  educated  wives,  and 
to  have  their  daughters  educated.  The  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ  will  do  no  greater  thing  for 
India  than  to  free  her  women,  and  dignify  her 
womanhood. 

One  of  the  most  striking  things  among  the 
people  of  the  Punjab  is  the  diversity  of  their 
languages.  The  language  of  the  aborigines  of 
the  Punjab  seems  to  be  almost  or  entirely  lost 
from  the  tongues  of  to-day.  Of  course,  with  the 
spread  of  the  Aryan  race,  there  was  the  spread 
of  the  Aryan  language,  some  early  form  of 
Sanskrit,  until  it  became,  no  doubt,  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Punjab.  In  the  southern  part 
of  the  Province  this  language  still  exists  in  the 
modern,  and  much  modified  form,  of  Hindi. 

The  language  most  universally  spoken  among 
the  educated  people  of  the  Punjab  is  the  lingua 
franca  of  India,  the  Urdu.  In  its  present  pol- 
ished form,  it  is  really  the  gift  of  the  Mogul 
Empire  to  India.  When  the  Moguls  came  into 
India,  they  found  spoken  the  various  dialects 
derived  from  the  Sanskrit  and  Dravidian  lan- 
guages. It  was  their  policy  to  adapt  them- 
selves, in  so  far  as  possible,  to  the  people  among 
whom  they  ruled,  but  in  speaking  the  language 
of  the  people  they  brought  in  a great  mass  of 
Persian  words,  and  even  Persian  grammatical 
forms,  and  many  Arabic  terms  which  abounded 


Diversity 
of  Language 


Languages 
in  the 
Prnijab 


60 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


in  their  religious  speech.  The  conquered  people 
quickly  began  to  talk  in  the  dialect  of  the  con- 
queror, and  so  there  sprang  up  the  language  of 
the  court  and  the  camp,  and  it  was  called  Urdu, 
which  means  the  language  of  the  camp.  This 
language  was  carried  all  over  India  in  the  days 
of  the  Mogul  Indian  Empire,  and  till  to-day  it 
is  the  common  language  of  educated  Indians. 
This  is  the  language  first  learned  by  the  mis- 
sionary in  the  Punjab,  for  although  he  will  not 
be  able  to  talk  familiarly  to  the  masses  through 
this  medium,  in  speaking  it  he  can  generally 
make  himself  understood  anywhere.  He  can 
always  use  it  in  talking  with  educated  men, 
and  in  it  he  will  find  most  of  the  native  lit- 
erature of  the  Province.  When  he  has  learned 
this  language  he  has  not  by  any  means  finished 
his  task,  however.  He  will  always  have  at 
least  one  or  two  other  languages  or  dialects  to 
learn,  that  he  may  talk  freely  with  the  com- 
mon people  of  his  district.  The  work  of  the 
women  missionaries  must  be  done  almost  en- 
tirely in  some  other  dialect,  for  the  women 
rarely  understand  Urdu  at  all.  In  the  Province 
of  the  Punjab,  the  written  languages  (beside  the 
classic  languages  of  Persian  and  Sanskrit)  are 
Urdu,  Gurmukhi,  Hindi,  Mahajani,  Lahnda, 
Tankri,  Kirarki,  and  Pushtu.  The  spoken  lan- 
guages are  as  follows:  Urdu,  Balochi,  Pashtu, 


THE  PEOPLE 


61 


Kashmiri,  Lahnda,  Punjabi,  Rajasthani,  West- 
ern Hindi,  Western  Pahari,  Gipsy,  Himalayan, 
and  others.  In  our  own  mission  districts,  at 
least  the  following  are  used  to  a considerable  ex- 
tent in  some  places : Urdu,  Gurmukhi,  Hindi, 
Lahnda,  Pushtu,  Pahari,  Punjabi.  If  the  mis- 
sionary speak  Pushtu  among  Pahari-speaking 
peasants,  he  will  not  be  understood  at  all,  and  if 
he  read  his  Gurmukhi  Testament  among  Push- 
tu-speaking people,  he  will  be  reading  in  a lan- 
guage entirely  foreign  to  them. 

The  most  commonly  spoken  language  among 
the  people  of  our  mission  districts  is  the  Pun- 
jabi. This  language,  however,  has  a great  num- 
ber of  dialects,  varying  according  to  location  or 
religion.  Some  idea  of  the  difference  in  vocab- 
ulary may  be  gathered  from  the  following  ex- 
ample given  in  the  Punjabi  of  the  Mohammedan 
and  in  that  of  the  Hindu.  This  example  is  the 
first  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  the  Gospel 
According  to  John,  and  is  quoted  from  the  Pun- 
jab Census  Report,  where  it  is  given  as  a fair 
sample  illustrating  the  difference  of  dialects.  It 
is  as  follows:  Mohammedan  Punjabi,  “Mud- 
lion  Kalam  si  te  Kalam  Khuda  de  noil  si,  te 
Kamal  Khuda  si” ; Hindu  Punjabi,  “Ad  rich 
sabad  si,  or  Sabad  Parmesur  de  sang  si,  ata 
Sabad  Parmesur  si.” 

It  is  difficult  for  one  whose  language  is 


Dialects  of 
Punjabi 


62 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


rtf 

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Gurmukhi  Punjabi.  Gospel  of  Matthew,  5th  Chapter. 


THE  PEOPLE 


63 


'ri ( !j<J|>»» 

1 UjljJ- 
— *•  •• 

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*•  4» 


Persian  Punjabi.  Shorter  Catechism. 


Literacy 


64  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 

European  to  go  into  India  and  master  a lan- 
guage so  different  from  his  own,  and  one  of  the 
most  discouraging  and  endless  tasks  set  for  the 
missionary,  is  mastering  the  different  dialects 
of  the  people  among  whom  he  has  come  to  work. 

From  the  earliest  times,  education  in  India 
has  been  restricted  to  a few  of  the  upper  clashes 
of  the  population,  principally  a few  of  the 
Brahmans.  Only  now  is  the  idea  of  popular 
education  beginning  to  lay  hold  upon  India. 
While  it  is  true  of  all  India  that  less  than  10 
per  cent,  of  her  population  could  read  at  the 
taking  of  the  census  of  1901,  it  was  estimated 
in  1904  that  over  22  per  cent,  of  the  boys  of 
school  age  in  the  British  Provinces  were  study- 
ing in  schools.  Some  of  the  statistics  of  literacy 
in  the  Punjab  are  as  follows:  Of  the  Parsee 
community  .6  are  able  to  read;  of  the  Chris- 
tians less  than  .5  are  literate,  of  the  Hindus  and 
Sikhs  .66,  and  of  Mohammedans  .015.  Of 
the  people  of  all  religions  in  the  Province 
.039  are  literate.  Among  females  only  34  in  > 
10,000  can  read.  Although  the  number  of 
Christians  that  are  literate  may  seem  very 
small,  it  is  comparatively  very  large  when  we 
remember  that  the  great  mass  of  the  Christian 
community  has  been  converted  from  among  the 
depressed  classes  of  the  people,  where  education 
has  never  been  known.  The  great  proportion  of 


THE  PEOPLE 


65 


these  are  adult  converts  who  will  never  learn 
to  read.  But  in  spite  of  this,  nearly  .5  of 
the  Christians  can  read,  while  of  the  Hindus 
who  have  been  the  privileged  class  in  the  mat- 
ter of  education  for  thousands  of  years,  only 
.66  can  read.  It  will  also  be  noticed  that  while 
in  all  India  the  proportion  of  literate  of  the 
population  is  nearly  10  per  cent.,  in  the 
Punjab  it  is  only  about  one-third  as  great. 

This  is  due  partly  to  the  Province’s  having 
been  brought  into  contact  with  Western  civili- 
zation at  so  recent  a date,  but  is  more  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  population  is  so  pre- 
dominantly Mohammedan.  From  the  above 
statistics  may  be  seen  how  backward  the  Mo- 
hammedans are  in  the  matter  of  education. 

Education  is  no  new  thing  to  India.  Before 
the  first  dawn  of  philosophic  thought  in  Greece, 

Indian  sages  were  wandering  far  afield  in  the  Education 
regions  of  abstract  thought,  and  at  least  as  early 
as  500  B.  C.  they  had  worked  out  a system  of 
philosophy.  As  early  as  350  B.  C.,  they  had  a 
grammar  of  the  Sanskrit  language,  and,  even  at 
as  early  a date  as  that,  the  Sanskrit  seems  to 
have  ceased  to  be  the  spoken  language  of  the 
people,  the  spoken  language  being  a largely 
modified  form  called  Prakrit.  The  Brahmans 
still  write  in  Sanskrit,  and  it  has  always  been 
the  sacred  language  of  the  Hindus.  Even  as 
5 


66 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


early  as  250  B.  C.,  there  were  at  least  two  writ- 
ten languages  in  India.  As  early  as  1000  B.  C., 
the  Brahmans  had  worked  out  a calculation  of 
the  solar  year,  with  360  days,  and  an  extra 
month  added  every  five  years  for  correction  of 
the  calendar.  The  first  medical  knowledge  of 
the  world  was  probably  Indian,  or  the  first  sys- 
tem of  medicine.  From  the  earliest  times  there 
has  been  a system  of  music  highly  developed. 
The  Brahmans  had  codes  of  laws  at  least  as  early 
as  500  B.  C.  The  present  laws  of  the  Hindus 
were  codified  by  Manu  at  some  time  between 
100  and  500  A.  D.  The  Brahmans  have  al- 
ways been  poets,  and  have  written  their  scrip- 
tures and  their  history  in  poetry.  They  possess 
two  great  epic  poems,  the  Mahabharata,  con- 
taining 220,000  lines  (22  times  as  long  as  the 
iEneid),  dealing  with  the  history  of  about  1200 
B.  C.,  and  the  Ramayana  of  48,000  lines,  which 
deals  with  the  history  of  perhaps  1000  B.  C. 

It  can  thus  easily  be  seen  that,  from  very 
remote  times,  the  Indians  as  a race  have  been 
acquainted  with  a mental  culture  of  the  highest 
order.  The  Hindu  mind  is  peculiarly  adapted 
to  modes  of  abstract  thought  It  simply  revels 
in  details  of  the  abstruse,  where  the  ordinary 
Western  is  either  lost  in  the  mazes,  or  dis- 
gusted with  the  apparent  lack  of  purpose  and 
result  in  the  thinking.  On  the  other  hand,  the 


THE  PEOPLE 


67 


Indian  has  almost  no  historic  sense,  and  very- 
little  liking  for  science  with  its  empirical  meth- 
ods and  exact  rules. 

Higher  education  in  the  Punjab  at  the  pres- 
ent time  is  under  the  control  of  the  Punjab 
University,  while  the  school  system  is  controlled 
by  the  Educational  Department  of  the  Province'. 

The  schools  are  graded  for  ten  years  of  study 
up  to  matriculation  in  the  colleges  of  the  Uni- 
versity. Passing  from  one  grade  of  the 
school  to  another  is  regulated  by  uniform  gov- 
ernment examinations.  The  courses  and  text 
books  to  be  used  are  regulated  by  the  Depart- 
ment. Every  school  receiving  government  aid 
is  required  to  submit  to  all  government  rules. 

The  schools  are  maintained  partly  by  fees 
received  from  pupils,  and  partly  from  funds 
received  from  some  benevolent  body,  or  in  the 
case  of  the  government  schools,  by  taxation. 
There  is  no  system  of  free  education  in  the 
Province  yet,  although  it  is  a matter  of  but  a 
short  time  until  there  will  be  at  least  free 
primary  education. 

The  primary  schools  are  reaching  a large 
mass  of  the  population  that  has  never  been 
reached  by  education  in  India  before,  and  thou- 
sands of  village  schools  are  springing  up  all  over 
the  country,  where  boys  gather  to  receive  the 
elements  of  education.  In  the  middle  and  high 


Grading  of 
Schools 


Primary 

Schools 


68 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Colleges 


schools,  the  courses  of  study  are  so  shaped  as 
to  lead  up  to  the  University  where  the  medium 
of  teaching  is  English.  Even  in  the  fourth 
year  in  the  primary  school,  the  little  Pun- 
jabi must  begin  the  study  of  a strange  tongue, 
English,  and  when  he  reaches  the  high  school, 
almost  all  his  studies  are  pursued  in  that  strange 
tongue. 

Educators  in  India  are  recognizing  the 
fact  that  the  village  school  has  been  too  much 
neglected,  and  that  it  is  the  great  lever  which 
will  lift  India  educationally.  Missions  are  do- 
ing everything  possible  to  develop  village  school 
systems,  and  in  some  of  our  mission  districts 
most  encouraging  progress  has  been  made,  in 
the  last  ten  years,  in  the  education  of  village 
Christian  boys. 

College  education  in  the  Province  is  con- 
trolled by  the  Punjab  University.  This  Uni- 
versity is  largely  a ruling  and  examining  body, 
while  the  teaching  is  delegated  to  the  different 
colleges  of  the  Province.  All  degrees  in  the 
Province  are  conferred  by  this  University,  and 
candidates  for  degrees  are  received  only  from 
such  colleges  as  are  approved  by  the  University 
and  affiliated  with  it.  Every  college  is  required 
to  maintain  a certain  degree  of  excellence  both 
in  teaching  staff  and  in  equipment.  Papers  for 
the  examination  of  all  college  students  are  pre- 


THE  PEOPLE 


69 


pared  by  some  disinterested  party,  and  the  ex- 
aminations are  uniform  for  the  candidates  from 
all  colleges.  The  curriculum  for  the  Univer- 
sity is  very  comprehensive,  and  the  standard  for 
passing  is  very  high.  The  courses  of  study  are 
(so  advanced,  and  the  tendency  to  specialize  so 
great,  that  Western  men  coming  to  teach  in  col- 
leges affiliated  with  the  University  are  generally 
surprised,  and  sometimes  staggered,  by  the  ad- 
vanced knowledge  of  the  subject  required  to 
prepare  men  for  the  University  examinations. 

This  plan  of  conferring  degrees  after  uniform 
examination  appeals  to  one,  at  first,  as  having 
many  advantages,  but  the  working  out  of  the 
present  system  in  India  has  been  most  disas- 
trous to  real  education  and  scholarship.  The 
student  sets  the  examination  before  him  as  his 
goal  and  works  for  that.  Too  often  his  educa- 
tion consists  of  a series  of  crams  to  enable  him 
to  pass  the  examinations.  This  defect  is  being 
recognized  by  educators,  and  efforts  are  being 
made  to  remedy  it. 

It  may  be  noted  that  while  education  is  not  a 
new  thing  in  India,  the  education  of  the  masses 
is  a new  thing.  The  present  awakening  in 
India,  and  the  present  political  unrest,  may  be 
traced  largely  to  modern  education.  It  is  the 
inevitable  effect  of  educating  the  people.  A 
taste  of  education  and  political  liberty  has  made 


70 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Education 
and  the 
masses 


Education 
of  Women 


Racial 

Character- 

istics 


India  hungry  for  more.  Slowly,  even  the 
peasant  has  had  demonstrated  to  him  how  a boy 
may  rise  on  the  ladder  of  education,  and  more 
and  more  they  are  seeking,  even  with  much  sac- 
rifice, to  have  their  boys  educated. 

The  most  deplorable  feature  of  the  whole  ed- 
ucational situation  in  the  Province  is  the  state 
of  female  education.  As  has  been  stated,  only 
34  females  in  10,000  are  literate.  Only  now 
are  the  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  beginning  to 
be  aroused  to  the  advantages  of  female  educa- 
tion, and,  the  most  advanced  of  them,  to  edu- 
cate their  daughters.  Outside  direct  preaching 
of  the  Gospel,  no  other  force  at  work  in  this  land 
is  to  be  compared  with  the  mission  schools  for 
girls.  It  is  with  the  education  of  the  mothers 
of  India  that  there  may  be  hope  for  advance  in 
her  civilization. 

It  is  much  the  fashion  among  the  races  of 
men  for  each  to  vaunt  his  own  excellencies  and 
to  be  blind  to  those  of  another  race,  and  to  shut 
his  eyes  to  his  own  weaknesses,  or  remain  in 
ridiculous  ignorance  of  them,  and  to  point  the 
finger  of  scorn  at  those  of  all  foreigners.  It  is 
only  a narrow  view  of  the  human  family  that  * 
leads  men  to  speak,  in  sweeping  terms,  of  one 
race  as  superior,  and  another  as  inferior.  God 
has  made  all  the  races,  each  with  its  outstanding 
excellencies,  and  each  one  is  the  most  excellent 


THE  PEOPLE 


71 


in  some  respect,  and  the  weakest  in  others.  It 
is  the  common  thing  to  speak  of  the  superiority 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  over  the  races  of  the 
East,  but  while  the  Indian  falls  short  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  in  some  racial  virtues,  he  far  ex- 
cels him  in  others. 

In  temperament  the  Indian  is  most  calm  and 
even.  He  is  patient  almost  to  a fault.  He  is 
submissive  and  obedient  to  recognized  author- 
ity. This  is  not  the  calmness  and  submission 
born  of  a stolid  nature,  for  he  has  a strong  and 
highly  developed  emotional  nature,  and  is  most 
quick  and  sensitive  to  appreciate  the  qualities 
of  the  dealings  of  others  with  him.  He  is  most 
affectionate  in  his  relationships  and  friendships. 
He  has  a philosophic  mind  that,  more  than  that 
of  any  other  race,  loves  to  deal  with  the  abstruse. 
Spiritually  he  is  a mystic,  and  some  day,  when 
he  has  become  a Christian,  the  Christian  world 
will  delight  to  sit  at  his  feet  and  learn  many  yet 
unfathomed  mysteries  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven.  He  is  most  tenacious  of  truth  once 
accepted.  In  manner  he  is  polite  and  affable, 
and  in  speech  eloquent. 

With  his  many  excellencies,  the  Indian  has 
many  glaring  racial  defects.  He  lacks  in  in- 
ventive power,  and  in  the  power  of  initiative.  He 
lacks  in  the  power  to  rule  others  well.  He  is 
not  logical  in  his  modes  of  thought.  He  is 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Racial 

Weak- 

nesses 


72 

ruled  much  more  by  emotion  than  by  reason. 
He  lacks  in  integrity  and  sterling  honesty.  He 
very  easily  divorces  faith  from  conduct,  and 
religious  belief  from  moral  life.  His  greatest 
lack  of  all  is  his  moral  lack.  Some  modern 
writers  on  Eastern  lands,  in  their  attempt  to  be 
charitable  to  those  of  whom  they  write,  very 
sadly  overstate  their  case.  In  attempting  to 
do  justice,  some  have  said  that  India  is  no  more 
immoral  than  are  Christian  nations,  but  that 
its  immorality  takes  a different  form.  In  all 
charity  toward  the  Indian,  and  with  the 
kindest  view  that  can  be  taken  of  his  morals, 
it  must  be  said  that  India  is  morally  de- 
graded beyond  anything  that  can  be  appre- 
ciated by  a man  who  has  been  reared  in  a Chris- 
tian land.  It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  disposition 
or  temperament  of  the  Indian,  not  the  fault  of 
his  race,  but  of  his  religion.  This  religious  de- 
fect has  resulted,  however,  in  the  most  deplor- 
able defects  of  character.  When  the  Indian 
visits  a Christian  land  and  finds  sin  to  any  ex- 
tent prevalent,  he  is  surprised.  He  picks 
at  the  flaws  he  sees  in  the  Christian, — and 
there  are  all  too  many  of  them  evident, — 
and  he  concludes  that  each  land  has  its  own 
equal  balance  of  vices  and  virtues.  He 
does  not  stop  to  consider  or  explain  that  what 
he  sees  of  vice  in  the  Christian  land  is  in 


THE  PEOPLE 


73 


contradiction  to  its  laws  and  its  religion,  and  is 
generally  carried  on  in  some  semblance  of  se- 
clusion, while  in  his  own  land  much  of  the  vice 
is  entrenched  in  its  religions,  winked  at  by  its 
laws,  and  cries  aloud  in  its  streets.  It  is  only 
when  one  has  lived  for  some  time  in  the  land, 
and  has  associated  himself  intimately  with  its 
social  systems,  that  the  true  state  of  its  degrada- 
tion begins  to  dawn  on  one. 

In  these  needs  of  the  race  has  been  the  oppor- 
tunity of  the  West  to  serve  India.  For  a score 
of  centuries  India  has  ceased  to  make  perceptible 
advance  along  any  line.  When  she  ceased  to  ad- 
vance, of  course,  according  to  the  laws  of  de- 
velopment, she  began  to  retrograde.  She 
needed  new  life,  new  vigor,  new  blood,  new 
ideals.  The  West  has  come  to  her  with  new 
ideals  in  every  sphere  of  life,  and  has  opened 
India’s  eyes,  and  caused  the  blood  to  flow  in 
her  palsied  limbs.  The  West  has  also  come 
to  India  with  a new  education,  with  an  ed- 
ucation that  is  a revelation  to  her  in  the  fields  of 
science  and  morals.  The  West  came  with  a sadly 
needed  amalgamating  force.  India  when  left  to 
herself  has  been  rent  into  hundreds  of  petty 
kingdoms.  The  Mogul  came  and  made  a vast 
empire,  but  with  all  other  non-Christian  empires 
of  history,  it  fell  from  its  own  weight.  England 
came  in,  and  with  a strong  hand  gathered  up 


Opportu- 
nity of  the 
West  to 
Serve  India 


74 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


the  forces  of  India  and  fused  them  into  the 
power  of  a strong  empire.  Not  only  has  she 
created  an  empire  to  be  held  together  by  force 
from  without,  but  she  has  set  forces  to  work 
within  which  should  mean  the  conserving  of  the 
empire.  She  has  been  training  India  to  become 
her  own  ruler,  and  to  preserve  her  own  unity. 
The  West  has  come  to  India  with  a new  stan- 
dard of  justice  and  a new  code  of  laws,  and 
gradually  the  old  laws  are  fading  away,  and 
are  doomed  to  disappear  rapidly  before  the 
Christian  code.  But,  above  all,  the  West  has 
come  to  India  with  a new  religion,  the  only 
force  that  can  possibly  accomplish  the  regenera- 
tion of  India,  and  make  reform  lasting  and  pro- 
gressive. Western  missions  have  brought  the 
Christ  to  India,  and  India  is  beginning  to  rec- 
ognize Him  as  Lord,  and  soon,  among  the  most 
comely  and  lovable  in  all  God’s  family  of  the 
races,  will  be  the  Indian  son. 


THE  HISTORY 


“The  unchangeableness  of  the  East  has  passed  into  a pro- 
verb ; but  the  proverb  is  only  applicable  to  its  social  state. 
Politically,  the  East  is  the  native  land  of  revolution.  The  his- 
tory of  India  is  a long  march  of  successive  dynasties — conqueror 
trampling  upon  conqueror,  race  overrunning  race.” — Sir  Her- 
bert Edwardes. 

“Another  world;  a world  in  itself.  This  is  what  India  pre- 
eminently is,  and  therein  lies  the  charm.” — Mine.  Ragozin, 
“Vedic  India." 

“All  kings  shall  fall  down  before  him,  all  nations  shall  serve 
him.” — Book  of  Psalms. 


THE  HISTORY 


Unfortunately  for  the  student  of 

history,  the  early  history  of  India  has 
remained  unwritten.  In  the  days  of 
the  height  of  his  civilization,  although  he  had  a 
highly  perfected  written  language,  the  Indian 
was  living  his  life  in  the  cloud-land  of  poetry, 
and  philosophy,  and  religious  mysticism,  rather  Absence  of 
than  chiseling  his  doings  in  monuments  of  stone  u>ricaiHls 
to  be  read  by  coming  generations.  The  Indian 
has  ever  been  a man  of  peace  rather  than  a man 
of  war,  a civilizer  rather  than  a conqueror.  Re- 
mote references  to  India  are  found  in  the  his- 
tories of  ancient  nations.  In  the  days  of  Solo- 
mon there  must  have  been  a considerable  trade 
between  Asia  Minor  and  India,  and  as  early  as 
500  B.  C.  there  is  mention  of  India  in  Greek 
literature;  but  the  first  really  historical  narra- 
tive of  India  is  found  in  the  Greek  literature  of 
the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  327  B.  C. 

While  historical  records  concerning  ancient 

77 


78 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Earliest 

History 


Epochs  of 
History 


India  are  entirely  wanting,  many  historical 
facts  may  be  gathered,  and  the  time  and  place 
of  their  happening  conjectured  with  some  de- 
gree of  certainty,  from  the  hymns  of  the  Hindus, 
the  Vedas,  some  of  which  were  no  doubt  writ- 
ten at  the  time  of,  or  soon  after,  the  entrance 
of  the  Aryan  into  India.  These  hymns  tell  the 
early  names  of  the  gods,  and  the  manner  of  their 
worship.  They  describe  the  mountains  and  val- 
leys, the  forests,  the  rivers,  and  the  plains. 
They  sing  of  the  battles  fought,  and  picture  the 
enemy.  They  record  something  of  the  size  of 
the  kingdom  of  the  Hindus.  They  show  the 
farmer  with  his  plow,  and  the  shepherd  with  his 
flock.  From  the  reading  of  these  hymns  some- 
thing can  be  stated  definitely  as  to  the  appear- 
ance, customs,  and  occupations  of  the  people, 
but  very  much  is  left  to  conjecture  as  to  the 
dates  of  the  poems  themselves,  and  again  as  to 
how  much  of  their  narrative  is  a record  of  real 
events,  and  how  much  is  flight  of  the  poet’s 
fancy.  As  ancient  India  approaches  modern 
times,  there  is  much  to  be  learned  from  in- 
scriptions, such  as  those  of  Asoka,  and  from  the 
coins  of  the  different  invaders  and  rulers. 

The  epochs  of  Indian  history  have  been 
variously  divided,  but  probably  the  following  is 
as  convenient  as  any  for  the  study  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Punjab: 


THE  HISTORY 


79 


1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 


The  India  of  the  Aborigines Before  2000  B.  C. 

TheVedic  Period  2000  B.  C— 1500  B.  C. 

The  Expansion  Period  1500  B.  C. — 257  B.  C. 

The  Buddhistic  Period 257  B.  C. — 650  A.  D. 

The  Brahmanic  Period.., 650  A.  D. — 1000  A.  D. 

The  Mohammedan  Period 1000  A.  D. — 1800  A.  D. 

The  Sikh  Period 1800  A.  D. — 1849  A.  D. 

The  British  Period 1849  A.  D. — Present 


Of  the  period  of  the  aborigines  very  little  can 
even  be  conjectured.  From  the  Vedas  we  learn 
that  the  aborigines  of  India  were  a black  race. 
From  the  very  name,  which  the  Aryan  conquer- 
ors gave  them,  Mlechcha  ( i . e.,  weak),  and  from 
the  fact  that  they  were  steadily  driven  out  or 
enslaved  by  the  Aryan,  we  know  that  in  valor 
and  in  the  art  of  war  they  were  inferior  to  the 
invading  race.  They  seem  to  have  been  more 
than  naked  forest  tribes,  however,  and,  being 
possessed  of  a rude  civilization,  to  have  lived  in 
houses  of  stone  in  rudely  fortified  towns,  at  least 
in  the  mountain  valleys  where  first  conquered. 
Any  knowledge  we  have  of  this  period  is  but  the 
faint  echo  of  a clash  of  arms  of  two  vigorous 
contending  races  in  the  days  of  the  youth  of 
the  world’s  civilization. 


Pre-historic 

People 


The  Vedic  Period  (2000  B.C.-1500  B.C.). 
The  Vedic  period  of  the  history  of  India  is 


80 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Founding 
of  an 
Aryan 
Empire 


supposed  to  cover  the  time  of  the  entrance  of  the 
Aryan  into  the  Punjab,  and  the  establishment 
of  the  first  empire  in  that  province.  The  Hindu 
writers  themselves  generally  claim  great  antiq- 
uity for  the  race  in  India,  putting  its  advent 
back  many  thousands  of  years,  or  even  many 
cycles  of  years,  and,  of  course,  ascribing  to  it 
divine  origin.  Modern  historians,  however, 
generally  agree  that  the  migration  of  the  Aryans 
was  about  2000  B.  C.,  and  the  history  of  that 
race  in  India  for  this  period  lies  wholly  within 
the  Punjab,  and  largely  in  its  northern  districts. 
The  Aryan  seems  to  have  entered  by  the  north- 
west pass,  and  found  fine  grazing  ground  for  his 
herds,  and  rich  land  for  the  tillage  of  his  plow, 
in  the  valley  of  the  Indus.  As  the  race  multi- 
plied, or  was  added  to  from  the  nations  left  be- 
hind in  Central  Asia,  it  seems  to  have  pushed 
steadily  out  across  the  Indus  River  into  the 
beautiful  mountain  valleys  and  broad,  rich 
plains  of  the  Attock,  Rawal  Pindi,  and  Jhelum 
districts.  It  would  seem  that  for  a consider- 
able time  this  territory  between  the  Indus  River 
and  the  Jhelum,  and  north  of  the  Salt  Range, 
was  the  home  of  the  race.  Here,  at  some  time 
in  remote  antiquity,  was  founded  the  city  of 
Taxila,  which  may  have  been,  and  probably  was, 
the  first  large  fortified  Aryan  city  in  India,  and 
the  capital  of  this  infant  empire  which  was 


THE  HISTORY 


81 


destined  to  spread  itself  over  all  India.  Here 
was  a territory  admirably  adapted  to  the  crad- 
ling of  such  a kingdom.  It  had  fertile  land, 
large  tracts  of  pasture,  well  timbered  hills  and 
abundance  of  water.  It  was  protected  on  the 
north  and  west  by  the  Indus  River,  on  the  north 
and  east  by  the  Himalaya  Mountains,  and  on 
the  south  by  the  River  Jhelum.  and  the  bleak 
Salt  Range. 

What  was  once  the  city  of  ancient  Taxila  is 
now  tilled  fields,  or  bare  rocky  hills,  but  at 
one  time  it  afforded  an  ideal  site  for  an  ancient 
city.  It  is  situated  midway  between  Rawal 
Pindi  and  Attock,  near  a spur  of  the  foothills 
of  the  Himalaya  Mountains,  called  the  Margala 
Range.  Here,  out  of  the  plain,  rises  a great 
rock,  on  which  stood  a fortress  of  stone.  A 
stream  flows  out  from  the  hills  through  the  broad 
plain  at  the  foot  of  this  great  rocky  point,  and 
nestling  closely  along  its  banks  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  fortress  on  the  hill,  was  the  city  of 
Taxila.  In  passing  this  point  by  train,  to-day, 
the  traveler  never  dreams  that  here  once  stood 
a great  city  teeming  with  life,  for  it  has  been 
a ruin  for  many  centuries,  with  no  trace  of  a 
city,  excepting  the  remains  of  the  thick  walls  of 
the  fortress  now  almost  level  with  the  ground, 
and  remnants  of  walls  of  the  city  that  may  be 
found  here  and  there  where  the  stream  has  cut 
6 


Ancient 

Taxila 


82 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Pore  Race 
of  the 
Far  North 


into  the  ancient  site.  Some  little  excavating 
has  been  done  here,  and  the  debris  is  found  to  be 
over  thirty  feet  deep.  From  these  ruins  are 
taken  some  coins,  ornaments,  and  pieces  of  pot- 
tery that  show  great  antiquity.  In  the  days  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  Taxi  la  seems  to  have  been 
the  principal  city  of  North  India,  and  that  in- 
vader made  it  the  capital  of  his  Indian  do- 
minion. 

It  is  evident  that  the  struggle  of  the  Aryan 
with  the  aborigines  in  this  part  of  India  was 
more  fierce  than  in  the  parts  to  the  south,  for 
from  this  part  he  has  driven  the  original  race 
entirely  out.  In  this  tract,  the  complexion  and 
features  of  the  people  proclaim  them  of  the 
purest  Aryan  blood,  while  it  may  almost  be  said 
that  the  aboriginal  tribes  are  not  found.  In 
Attock  and  Rawal  Pindi  districts,  the  Chuhras 
number  less  than  one  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
population,  and  no  doubt  a large  majority  of 
these  have  been  brought  in,  as  servants  and  brick- 
makers,  within  the  last  few  decades..  The  early 
hymns  of  the  Hindus  speak  of  the  bitterest  race 
hatred  against  the  black  aborigines,  and  the 
Brahman  teacher  exhorts  the  warrior  to  slay 
them  mercilessly  without  quarter.  So  it  is  prob- 
able that  in  this  period  the  black  man  was  com- 
pletely driven  from  this  territory,  and  here  was 
established  a strong  Aryan  kingdom,  and  here 


THE  HISTORY 


83 


the  race  acquired  the  civilization  and  the  wealth 
that  enabled  it  to  conquer  the  Peninsula. 

The  Aryan  must  have  brought  with  him 
something  of  a civilization,  or  must  quickly  have 
acquired  it,  for  the  earliest  hymns  speak  of 
clothing,  and  armor,  and  plows.  He  wTas  more 
than  a herdsman,  he  was  a farmer.  Besides 
this,  not  much  is  known  of  his  early  habits  of 
life,  except  that  he  ate  grain,  and  the  flesh  of 
sheep,  the  cow,  and  the  horse,  and  offered  the 
horse  in  sacrifice.  The  light  on  the  history  of 
this  period  is  only  a little  less  dim  than  that  on 
the  history  of  the  aborigines. 

The  Expansion  Period  (1500  B.C.-257  B.C.). 

This  period  is  characterized  by  the  spread 
of  the  Aryan  race  through  India  southward. 
Its  people,  having  established  a strong  kingdom 
north  of  Jhelum,  kept  pushing  out  into  the 
southern  plains  of  India.  They  occupied  the 
fertile  valleys  of  the  Ganges  and  spread  away 
to  the  south  of  the  Peninsula.  They  no  longer 
attempted  the  extermination  of  the  aboriginal 
race,  but  found  it  more  profitable  to  subdue  and 
enslave  it;  so,  from  the  Jhelum  to  Ceylon,  are 
found  the  two  races  existing  side  by  side.  It 
was  in  the  end  of  this  period  that  India  was 
brought  into  direct  contact  with  the  West 


Earliest 
Aryan 
Civilizal  ion 


Invasion 

of 

Alexander 


84 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


through,  the  invasion  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
He,  with  his  army,  entered  the  same  door 
through  which  the  Aryan  came  some  seventeen 
centuries  before. 

Crossing  the  Indus  at  Attock,  he  met  with  no 
resistance  from  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Taxila, 
which  had  been  completely  awed  by  the  reports 
that  preceded  the  conqueror.  He  stopped  here 
long  enough  to  make  truce  with  the  surrounding 
kings,  and  then  went  forward  to  attack  King 
Porus,  whose  kingdom  lay  along  the  Jhelum 
River,  and  who  had  refused  to  submit  to  the 
foreign  invader,  hoping  to  find  deliverance  by 
means  of  the  river  lying  between  them.  After 
a hazardous  battle  fought  beyond  the  Jhelum 
River,  almost  opposite  the  present  site  of  Jhelum 
City,  he  received  the  submission  of  Porus,  and 
many  other  petty  kings,  and  continued  his  march 
southeastward  along  the  foot  of  the  mountains. 
He  heard  of  great  kingdoms  and  rich  cities,  ly- 
ing away  to  the  southeast,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ganges,  and  determined  to  subdue  them.  When 
he  reached  a point  supposed  to  be  near  the  mod- 
ern Gurdaspur,  in  the  Punjab,  his  troops  re- 
fused to  go  forward,  almost  mutinied,  and  de- 
manded their  return  to  Greece.  With  his  troops 
scourged  with  the  Indian  fever,  which  is  still 
the  great  foe  of  the  white  man  in  India,  he 
made  his  way  back  to  the  Jhelum.  He  built 


THE  HISTORY 


85 


boats  upon  the  river,  and  putting  his  army  upon 
them,  after  a campaign  of  less  than  two  years, 
left  the  north  of  India  conquered,  with  the  hope 
that  his  rule  here  would  be  strong  enough  to 
conquer  the  rest  of  it.  He  left  a viceroy  to 
rule  for  him,  and  a remnant  of  his  army,  here 
and  there,  to  hold  an  important  fort;  but  Gre- 
cian rule  in  the  Punjab  was  destined  to  be  short. 

He  had,  however,  opened  India  to  the  West,  and 
the  West  to  India.  His  historians  carried  to 
Europe  such  tales  of  India,  that  it  was  never 
again  forgotten. 

The  Buddhistic  Period  (257  B.C.-650  A.D.). 

Buddha,  the  founder  of  the  Buddhist  relig- 
ion, was  bom  about  625  B.  C.  He  was  born  a 
prince,  but  at  the  age  of  thirty  renounced  the  Buddhism 
world  and  became  an  ascetic.  The  religion  he 
founded,  while  containing  many  beautiful 
truths,  is  fundamentally  atheistic.  This  re- 
ligion grew  at  a marvelous  pace  in  India,  and  in 
four  centuries  had  spread  over  much  of  the 
empire,  and  away  beyond  its  borders. 

Shortly  after  Alexander  left  India,  a Hindu 
named  Chandra  Gupta,  in  316  B.  C.,  founded 
a kingdom  in  northern  India  that  superseded 
that  of  the  Greeks.  This  man’s  grandson,  Aso- 
ka,  was  one  of  the  strongest  rulers  ever  known 
in  India.  He  early  became  a convert  to  Buddh- 


86 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Aaako’g 

Empire 


Chinese 

Pilgrim* 


ism,  and  immediately  became  a great  missionary 
emperor.  He  issued  edicts  and  had  them  cut  on 
stone  pillars  and  in  temples.  These  edicts  form 
the  most  complete  of  ancient  Indian  inscrip- 
tions, and  almost  the  only  ones.  In  this  period, 
the  Punjab  seems  to  have  been  converted  almost 
entirely  to  Buddhism,  and  became  one  of  the 
great  Buddhist  strongholds.  All  through  the 
site  of  this  ancient  Aryan  kingdom,  between  the 
Jhelum  River  and  Peshawar,  are  relics  of  that 
ancient  faith,  monasteries  and  temples,  with 
scenes  from  the  life  of  Buddha  beautifully  cut 
in  their  walls  of  stone.  These  are  now  com- 
pletely in  ruins,  but  the  sculptured  stones  are 
still  plowed  from  the  ground  or  dug  from  the 
ancient  sites. 

A great  deal  of  light  is  thrown  on  the  con- 
ditions in  India  in  this  period  by  the  journals 
of  Chinese  Buddhist  pilgrims  visiting  India 
on  religious  pilgrimage.  The  chief  of  them 
came  about  630-640  A.  D.,  and  has  written 
graphically  of  the  cities  he  saw,  and  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  the  people  he  visited. 

In  this  period  a new  element  entered  the 
Punjab.  The  Scythians,  a central  Asian  race, 
having  conquered  Bactria,  went  on  and  took 
possession  of  her  provinces.  The  Scythians  es- 
tablished a strong  kingdom  in  the  Punjab,  and 
about  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  were 


THE  HISTOKY 


87 


at  the  height  of  their  power  there.  It  is  prob- 
able that  in  the  north  of  the  Punjab  there  is  a 
strong  strain  of  the  Scythian  blood  in  the  pres- 
ent race. 

The  Brahmanic  Period  (650  A.D.-1000  A.D.). 

During  this  period  ancient  Brahmanism 
quickly  regained  its  power  and  superseded 
Buddhism.  While  there  are  stories  told  of  cruel 
persecution  by  the  Brahmans,  it  is  not  known 
how  much  is  true  and  how  much  legend.  Revival  of 

. . . Brahman. 

Brahmanism,  true  to  its  traditions,  seems 
to  have  come  quietly  in  again,  and  pushed 
Buddhism  out.  It  is  known  that  between  700 
and  900  A.D.,  there  was  a great  revival  of 
Brahmanism,  and  that,  by  900  A.D.,  Buddhism 
had  practically  been  driven  from  India,  the  land 
of  its  birth.  There  is  little  to  note  in  this  period 
of  history.  The  whole  country  was  divided  into 
larger  or  smaller  kingdoms,  each  independent  of 
the  other. 

The  Mohammedan  Period  (1000  A.D..-1800 
A.D.). 

Mohammed  was  born  in  Arabia,  in  570 
A.D.  He  there  founded  a powerful  empire, 
which  soon  became  a world  power.  The  im- 


88 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Early 
Mohamme- 
dan Con- 
quest 


mediate  followers  of  Mohammed  made  several 
attempts  to  conquer  India,  but  failed  in  each. 
In  977,  the  Mohammedan  king,  Subuktagin, 
made  an  attack  on  the  king  of  Lahore,  to  insist 
on  the  payment  of  some  promised  ransom  that 
was  being  withheld.  He  took  Peshawar  in  the 
north,  which  he  held  as  an  outpost.  His  son, 
the  famous  Mahmud  of  Ghazni,  made  seventeen 
invasions  of  India,  establishing  his  rule  over  the 
Punjab,  which  continued  as  a province  of  Af- 
ghanistan. After  Mahmud’s  time,  the  Punjab 
remained  under  Afghan  kings  a century  and  a 
half,  then  came  the  dynasty  of  the  slave  kings, 
which  lasted  for  about  a century,  until  1290. 
After  this  came  the  Ivhilji  emperors,  who  ex- 
tended the  empire  as  far  as  Southern  India. 
After  this  came  the  Tughlak  dynasty,  which 
lasted  for  nearly  a century.  Under  these  em- 
perors, India  became  a much  more  perfectly 
consolidated  empire.  During  the  reign  of  the 
third  Tughlak  was  the  invasion  of  the  famous 
Tamerlane.  He  swept  over  northern  India, 
leaving  desolation  in  his  track,  hut  made  no 
attempt  to  establish  a rule.  Between  this  dy- 
nasty and  that  of  the  Mogul  emperors  were 
two  short  dynasties. 

Baber,  the  great  Mogul  emperor,  was  the 
sixth  in  the  line  of  Tamerlane.  He  succeeded 
only  to  the  petty  kingdom  of  Ferghana,  but  he 


THE  HISTORY 


89 


first  became  king  of  Afghanistan,  and  in  1526 
entered  the  Punjab  and  established  a powerful 
empire  in  India.  He  was  a mighty  warrior,  but 
it  remained  to  his  grandson,  Akbar,  to  establish 
the  Mogul  dynasty  firmly  in  India.  Akbar  was 
the  most  famous  of  all  Indian  emperors,  and 
ruled  from  1556  to  1605  A.  D.  He  was  a 
wonderful  organizer.  He  gathered  strong  men 
of  all  religions  of  the  country  about  him  and 
made  them  serve  his  ends.  He  codified  laws, 
levied  taxes  according  to  a system,  built  govern- 
ment roads,  subdivided  the  country  into  states 
and  counties  with  appropriate  rulers,  and  really 
solidified  India  into  an  empire.  Among  the 
other  religions  represented  at  the  court  was  the 
Christian  religion.  Akbar  is  said  to  have  been 
favorably  impressed  with  it,  and  some  even 
claim  that  at  heart  he  was  a Christian.  His 
religion  seems  to  have  been  quite  far  from 
Christianity,  however,  and  it  could  not  even  be 
called  pure  Mohammedanism,  for  he  became  so 
broad  in  his  views  that  he  established  a religion 
of  his  own,  and  so  far  Hinduized  it  that  he  is 
said  to  have  received  the  worship  of  his  people. 
His  son  seemed  to  be  more  deeply  impressed 
with  Christianity,  and  it  is  known  that  two  of 
his  nephews  became  Christians,  with  the  Empe- 
ror’s consent,  if  not  with  his  approval.  Al- 
though there  were  several  strong  emperors  in 


The  Mogul 
Empire 


90 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Failure  of 
Mohamme- 
danism 


the  Mogul  line,  there  never  was  another  who 
nearly  measured  up  to  Akbar,  and  gradually 
the  throne  lost  its  power.  They  held  the  sem- 
blance of  rule,  at  least  in  the  Punjab,  until  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  During 
this  dynasty  were  built  many  famous  forts, 
mosques,  and  tombs,  which  are  standing  to-day, 
and  are  known  as  some  of  the  world’s  most  beau- 
tiful architecture.  Most  famous  among  these  is 
the  Taj  Mahal,  which  is  a mausoleum  erected 
by  the  Emperor  Shah  Jahan  over  the  body  of 
his  queen. 

Mohammedan  rule  in  India  was  more  nearly 
universal  and  permanent  than  any  other  had 
ever  been,  but  it,  too,  fell  through  its  inherent 
weakness,  and  by  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  India  was  again  divided  into 
petty  kingdoms  more  or  less  independent  of  one 
another. 

The  Sikh  Period  (1800  A.D.-1849  A.D.). 

During  the  Mohammedan  period,  there  was 
born  in  the  Punjab  a man  who  was  to  have  a 
large  influence  on  its  history.  This  man  was 
Baba  Nanak  Shah,  born  in  1469.  In  young 
manhood  he  became  a recluse,  preaching  against 
idolatry,  and  teaching  simplicity  of  life.  His 
own  teaching  was  most  simple,  but  has  been 


Sikh  Rule 


Tomb  of  Ranjit  Singh 

He  was  named  the  “ Lion  of  the  Punjab,”  and  was  the  greatest  of  the  Sikh  rulers. 


THE  HISTORY 


91 


elaborated  by  later  teachers  of  the  religion. 
These  teachers  and  leaders  of  the  religion  were 
called  gurus,  of  whom  there  were  ten  in  a suc- 
cession of  high  priests,  extending  down  to  1708, 
when  the  line  of  gurus  ceased.  During  the 
later  reign  of  the  Moguls,  the  Sikhs  underwent 
very  bitter  persecution.  At  first  the  Sikhs  were 
only  a religious  sect  of  the  Hindus,  but  later 
they  began  to  have  political  ambitions.  In  1780 
was  born  Ranjit  Singh,  who,  in  1800,  was  made 
governor  of  Lahore.  Being  a man  of  strong 
character,  and  dealing  with  a weak  government, 
he  soon  gathered  strong  men  around  him  and 
founded  a kingdom  of  his  own.  Before  long  he 
bad  conquered  the  Punjab.  He  was  a man  of 
much  wisdom  in  rule,  and  a born  warrior.  He 
maintained  an  army  of  high  efficiency,  in  which 
he  had  some  British  officers.  The  laws  and  cus- 
toms of  the  Sikhs  are  such  that  they  have  raised 
up  a race  of  warriors,  rather  than  of  rulers,  and 
to  this  day  among  the  finest  soldiers  in  the  In- 
dian army  are  those  of  the  Sikh  regiments. 
Ranjit  Singh  died  in  1839  and  left  no  ruler 
worthy  of  the  throne.  After  his  death,  the  king- 
dom was  full  of  strife  and  misgovernment  until 
it  broke  out  in  open  war  with  the  British,  by 
whom  it  was  subdued  and  made  a part  of  the 
British  Possessions  in  1849. 


92 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


British 
Conquest 
of  the 
Puqjab 


The  British  Period  (1849  to  the  'present ). 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  beginning  of 
British  rule  in  the  Punjab  was  not  the  begin- 
ning of  British  rule  in  India.  Toward  the  end 
of  the  fifteenth  century  there  grew  up  a very 
strong  rivalry  in  the  sea  trade  among  the  Eng- 
lish, Portuguese  and  Dutch.  Under  this  stim- 
ulus the  East  India  Company  was  incorporated, 
in  1600,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  com- 
merce with  East  India.  Through  this  company 
there  was  a great  expansion  of  British  trade 
and  influence.  About  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  the  East  India  Company  un- 
dertook the  rule  of  those  countries  occupied  for 
trade.  The  first  governor  appointed  was  Lord 
Clive,  in  1758.  Other  noted  men  among  the 
early  governors  were  Warren  Hastings  and 
Cornwallis.  The  rule  of  the  British  was  grad- 
ually extended  toward  the  north,  until,  the 
occasion  arising,  the  Punjab  was  added  to 
British  territory  during  the  administration 
of  Lord  Dalhousie,  in  1849.  Lord  Dalhousie 
was,  perhaps,  the  greatest  of  all  British  gov- 
ernors in  India,  and  he  was  so  fortunate  as 
to  have  associated  with  him  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  government  in  the  Punjab,  such  men 
of  might  as  the  Lawrences, — men  remembered 


THE  HISTORY 


93 


to  this  day  with  the  deepest  reverence  by  the 
people  of  the  Punjab.  One  of  the  first  steps 
for  the  pacification  of  the  Punjab  was  the  dis- 
arming of  the  population.  It  is  recorded  that 
over  120,000  arms  of  different  kinds  were  sur- 
rendered. Immediately  there  was  a new  land 
settlement,  and  taxes  were  levied  according  to  a 
fixed  rate,  which  made  them  appreciably  lower 
than  they  had  been  under  the  old  Sikh  rule. 
Prom  the  first,  the  Punjab  has  been  one  of  the 
best  satisfied  and  most  loyal  of  the  provinces 
of  India. 

In  less  than  a decade  after  the  annexation  of 
the  Punjab  came  the  horror  of  the  Sepoy  Mut- 
iny. Por  some  time  dissatisfaction  with  the 
government  had  been  spreading  among  the 
people  of  India.  There  was  a feeling  that  it 
might  be  possible  to  drive  out  the  British  and 
again  establish  the  Mogul  Empire.  The  trouble 
was  precipitated  in  the  army  by  a thoughtless 
administration,  which  dealt  out  to  Hindu  and 
Mohammedan  soldiers  cartridges  greased  with 
animal  fat.  Seditious  persons  soon  spread  the 
report  in  the  army,  to  the  Hindu  regiments 
that  the  cartridges  were  greased  with  the  fat  of 
the  sacred  cow,  and  to  the  Mohammedan  reg- 
iments that  the  fat  was  that  of  the  loathsome 
swine.  They  were  told  that  this  was  a delib- 
erate attempt  on  the  part  of  the  government 


Sepoy 

Mutiny 


94 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


to  break  their  caste,  so  that  they  would  all 
become  Christians.  Within  a few  weeks,  there 
was  a revolt  in  the  Indian  regiments  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  land,  and  men  trained  by 
Great  Britain  to  fight  her  battles  turned  their 
guns  against  her.  It  is  not  necessary  to  recite 
here  the  horrors  of  the  Mutiny,  how  men, 
women,  and  children  were  slaughtered  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Mutiny  in  Meerut,  on  May 
10,  1857,  nor  the  awful  tales  of  treachery  at 
Cawnpore,  Lucknow,  and  Delhi.  Most  thrill- 
ing accounts  of  these  times  may  be  found  in 
“ Our  India  Mission.”  * Although  there  was 
disaffection  in  the  Punjab,  this  Province  re- 
mained loyal  in  the  main,  partly  because  her 
people  were  so  impressed  with  the  new  privi- 
leges of  British  rule,  and  partly  because  of  the 
skill  and  quickness  of  her  rulers  in  taking 
numbers  of  the  Sikhs  and  drafting  them  into 
the  army,  and  keeping  them  apart  from  the 
disaffection  in  the  army.  It  was  no  doubt 
the  loyalty  and  valor  of  the  Sikh  army  that 
saved  the  country  to  the  British  Empire  at 
that  time ; this,  of  course,  taken  together 
with  the  miracles  of  bravery  and  endurance 
of  the  British  officers  and  soldiers  themselves. 

After  the  Mutiny,  in  1858,  the  whole  of  the 


♦Andrew  Gordon,  “Our  India  Mission,”  p.  128. 


THE  HISTORY 


95 


rule  of  British  India  was  transferred  from  the 
East  India  Company  to  the  British  Crown,  and 
India  became  a part  of  the  British  Empire. 
Since  that  time  the  development  of  the  coun- 
try has  been  marked  and  rapid.  Peace  has 
reigned  throughout  the  land,  except  when  there 
have  been  little  tilts  with  border  tribes,  from 
time  to  time.  The  British  ruler  has  set  before 
him  as  his  ideal  the  eventual  government  of 
India  by  the  Indian.  The  accomplishment  of 
the  task  he  has  set  himself  seems  slow  to  one 
trained  to  think  in  terms  of  the  institutions  of 
Democracy,  but  in  the  end  the  success  achieved 
may  be  the  more  sure  and  substantial.  Cer- 
tainly, in  all  the  ages  past  in  Indian  history  and 
tradition,  there  is  no  record  nor  trace  of  such 
a government  as  the  British  have  given  to  In- 
dia. Under  British  rule,  the  country  has  be- 
come a great  empire,  with  a central  government, 
a legislative  council,  a code  of  laws,  a system 
of  taxation,  an  adequate  line  of  defenses,  a thor- 
oughly equipped  and  excellently  trained  army, 
a vigorous  and  growing  commerce,  an  estab- 
lished school  system,  a free  press,  a wonderful 
system  of  railways,  and  a most  efficient  mail 
service.  In  fact,  the  British  have  made  a new 
India,  or  an  India  that  is  rapidly  becoming 
new. 

However  severely  a man  may  criticise  the 


India  made 
Part  of  the 
British 
Empire 


96 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Great 
Britain’s 
Service  for 
India 


Be  grinning 
of  Self 
Rule 


British  administration  in  India,  he  is  bound  to 
admit  that,  on  the  whole,  it  has  been  a godsend 
to  India.  It  has  taken  a great  number  of  petty 
states  and  welded  them  into  an  empire.  It  has 
laid  hold  upon  a decrepit  Mohammedanism  and 
Hinduism,  and  lifted  them  up  to  a place  where 
they  might  at  least  catch  a vision  of  the  extent 
to  which  they  have  been  outstripped  in  the 
world’s  great  march  of  progress. 

The  British  have  given  India  a fully  organ- 
ized government.  They  have  set  a ruler,  with 
his  council,  who  is  in  immediate  touch  with  the 
remotest  corners  of  his  empire,  and  who  can 
control  it  thoroughly.  With  all  British  thor- 
oughness, they  have  given  India  a great,  unified 
system  of  government.  They  have  built  up  a 
strong,  well-officered,  and  well-drilled  army  for 
the  protection  of  India  from  her  foes,  without 
and  within.  They  have  delivered  India  from 
the  grinding  taxation  which  used  to  be  levied 
according  to  the  whims  of  a selfish  ruler,  and 
which  was  gauged  not  by  the  necessities  of  gov- 
ernment, but  by  the  utmost  limit  of  the  people’s 
ability  to  sacrifice,  or  generally  a little  beyond 
that  limit.  In  the  place  of  such  taxation,  there 
is  now  a uniform  system  of  taxation. 

The  British,  professedly,  are  teaching  India 
to  rule  herself,  and  have  begun  by  first  allowing 
municipalities  to  govern  themselves.  The  af- 


THE  HISTORY 


97 


fairs  of  cities  so  governed  are  regulated  by  a 
municipal  committee,  part  of  which  is  appoint- 
ed by  the  government,  and  part  elected  by  tbe 
people,  and  whose  president  is  a government 
officer.  The  people  are  also  given  an  advisory 
place  in  the  provincial  and  national  legislative 
councils. 

The  British  have  given  to  the  country  a sys- 
tem of  schools  and  universities,  with  the  aim  of 
disseminating  learning  in  India.  In  these  there 
is  given  the  utmost  freedom  of  secular  educa- 
tion. Every  effort  is  made  to  bring  India  into 
touch  with  the  best  there  is  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion and  thought.  The  government  has  allowed 
a free  press  which  has  not  been  slow  nor  sparing 
in  its  criticisms  of  the  government,  its  policies, 
and  its  officers.  The  government  has  favored, 
and  even  fostered,  the  Indian  National  Con- 
gress, a body  of  native  gentlemen  that  convenes 
every  year  to  discuss  questions  of  national  im- 
portance. This  body  has  neither  legislative  nor 
advisory  power,  but  it  has  served  a great  pur- 
pose in  affording  a channel  for  the  airing  of 
grievances,  real  or  fancied,  and  of  informing 
the  government  of  the  nation’s  attitude  toward 
questions  of  proposed  change  in  policy,  or 
needed  change. 

The  British  have  done  much  to  encourage 
trade  in  India,  to  develop  her  markets,  and  in 
7 


Free  Press 
and 

National 

Congress 


Hallways 


Political 

Unrest 


98  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 

many  ways  to  foster  commerce.  They  have 
built  a great  network  of  railways  over  the 
Peninsula,  until  India  is,  of  all  the  countries  of 
the  world,  one  of  the  best  equipped  with  rail- 
ways. They  have  also  opened  vast  tracts  of 
desert  land  to  cultivation  through  the  opening 
of  canals  for  irrigation. 

With  a strong  and  beneficent  government  hav- 
ing bestowed  such  good  upon  it,  one  might  mar- 
vel to-day  at  the  state  of  political  unrest  in 
that  land.  By  some,  this  unrest  has  been  set  down 
as  only  the  clamor  of  the  ignorant  and  dis- 
affected of  the  population.  This  is  wholly  un- 
fair, however,  for  among  the  present  agitators 
are  some  of  the  best  educated  and  most  thought- 
ful and  patriotic  citizens  of  India.  . Among 
them  are  many  who  are  wholly  loyal  to  the 
British  government,  but  who  say  there  is  need 
for  immediate  relief  along  certain  lines;  but 
the  relief  asked  for  seems  almost  revolutionary 
in  character  and  extent.  The  situation  is  not 
one  unattended  with  peril.  On  the  one  side  is 
the  Englishman,  with  all  his  traditional  con- 
servatism, who  moves  by  processes  of  reasoning 
and  according  to  precedent,  progressing  only  by 
inches,  but  rarely  having  to  retrace  an  inch. 
On  the  other  side  is  the  Indian,  undemonstra- 
tive, with  a reverence  for  authority  that  makes 
him  appear  almost  servile,  slow  to  awaken  to  a 


THE  HISTORY 


99 


situation,  but  when  once  awakened,  carried 
along  by  his  emotions  in  the  avalanche  of  a great 
mass  movement.  In  some  senses,  the  present 
unrest  is  simply  the  boy  grown  old  enough  to 
be  somewhat  restless  under  the  authority  of  the 
home.  In  other  instances,  there  are  grievances 
that  are  recognized  by  the  government  itself, 
and  which  it  is  striving  to  remedy.  Without 
any  attempt  to  pass  upon  the  fairness  or  un- 
fairness of  their  positions,  some  of  the  griev- 
ances of  the  agitators  as  stated  by  themselves  are 
set  down. 

They  claim  that  Indians  are  shut  out  of  posi- 
tions of  trust  and  influence,  in  the  government  The  IndInn 
and  the  army,  which  they  are  perfectly  com-  viewpoint; 
petent  to  fill.  That  the  Indian  is  unfairly  dis- 
criminated against  in  the  matter  of  position 
and  salary.  That  Indians  should  have  a real 
voice  in  the  settling  of  the  Indian  budget  and 
the  levying  of  taxes.  That  India  should  have 
the  same  powers  of  legislation  that  are  allowed 
to  Canada,  Australia,  and  South  Africa. 

That  there  has  not  been  the  proper  encourage- 
ment and  protection  given  to  home  industries, 
and  that  the  market  has  been  manipulated  to 
the  advantage  of  the  British  producer. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  weakness  of  the  British 
in  India  has  been  their  attitude  toward  Chris- 
tianity, not  the  attitude  of  the  government, 


100 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Weakness 
of  Some 
British 
Officers 


which  is  one  of  tolerance  of  all  religions  and 
interference  with  none,  but  the  personal  attitude 
of  a great  number  of  officials,  which  has  com- 
promised their  Christianity.  The  Indian  is  a 
most  intensely  religious  man;  above  all  things 
he  is  religious,  and  expects  every  man  to  be  so. 
He  will  understand  a man  who  is  bigoted  in  his 
faith  and  who  lives  according  to  its  leading,  and 
to  some  extent  he  will  trust  that  man,  but  he 
abhors  the  man  who  has  no  religion.  He  cannot 
understand  him.  The  Indian  is  so  fervent  in 
his  religion,  and  religious  tolerance  is  a thing 
so  new  to  him,  that  the  broad  tolerance  of  many 
officers,  and  their  acts  favoring  not  only  the 
adherents  of  other  religions,  but  these  religions 
themselves,  have  led  Indians  to  suppose  that 
those  acting  thus  toward  other  religions,  have 
either  lost  faith  in  their  own,  or  are  not  sin- 
cere in  their  motives.  Officers  have  sometimes 
compromised  their  own  faith  to  gain  the  favor 
of  the  people  for  themselves,  or  for  the  govern- 
ment, but  a noteworthy  fact  is  this,  that  those 
officers  who  have  stood  out  prominently  in  the 
history  of  India,  as  those  strong  in  administra- 
tion and  at  the  same  time  popular,  have  been 
men  of  deep  religious  convictions,  who  have 
not  compromised,  in  belief  or  practice,  for 
the  sake  of  policy.  Of  such  men,  of  whom 
there  are  not  a few,  it  is  common  to  hear  the 


THE  HISTORY 


101 


remark  from  Indians:  “Yes,  he  is  a good  offi- 
cer; he  is  a real  Christian.” 

On  the  whole,  the  British  have  established 
for  themselves  in  India  an  enviable  reputation 
for  truth,  honesty  and  justice.  Inconsistent  as 
has  been  the  conduct  of  many  individuals,  the 
government  and  the  race  have  introduced  to 
India  a new  standard  of  morals  and  a new  code 
of  justice.  The  missionary  should  be  the 
last  one  to  complain  of  unfair  treatment,  for  the 
government  has  been  protecting  missions  for 
decades.  In  most  particulars,  the  British 
must  he  praised  for  the  efficiency  of  their  rule 
in  India,  and  for  the  wonderful  development  of 
that  land. 


Efficiency 
of  British 

Bale 


RELIGIONS 


“ And  beyond  all  these  things,  these  non-Christian  religions, 
with  all  their  good,  are  yet  seamed  through  and  through  with 
great  and  positive  and  hideous  evils.  I am  frankly  ready  to 
admit  that  there  are  great  evils  in  our  Christian  lands,  but  there 
is  one  profound  and  distinctive  difference  between  our  Christian 
lands  and  the  non-Christian  lands.  The  great  evils  under  which 
we  suffer  here  are  all  of  them  directly  condemned  by  our  re- 
ligion, and  are  practiced  in  the  face  of  its  prohibitions,  while  the 
great  evils  from  which  the  non-Christian  people  suffer  are  em- 
bedded in  their  religions  and  derive  their  most  terrible  power 
from  the  religious  sanctions  by  which  they  are  surrounded. — 
Robert  E.  Speer. 

“Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth whom  God  raised  from 

the  dead in  none  other  is  there  salvation  : for  neither 

is  there  any  other  name  under  heaven,  that  is  given  among  men, 
wherein  we  must  be  saved.” — Peter. 


IV 


THE  RELIGIONS 


THE  religions  represented  in  the  Punjab 
in  the  order  of  the  number  of  their 
adherents,  are  as  follows : Moslems, 
Hindus,  Sikhs,  Christians,  Jains,  Buddhists, 
and  Parsees.  The  three  last  named  are  so  few 
in  numbers  in  the  Punjab,  that  in  a casual  deal- 
ing with  the  religions  of  the  Province,  they  may 
be  omitted  from  the  discussion.  The  Jains  are 
really  a reformed,  or  deformed,  sect  of  Hindus, 
or,  as  some  say,  of  the  Buddhists.  Strange  to 
say,  that  while  the  Buddhists  once  dominated 
the  country  and  controlled  the  religion  of  the 
State,  and  no  doubt  claimed  as  adherents  most 
of  the  population,  they  have  now  almost  dis- 
appeared from  the  Province,  and  indeed  from 
India  proper.  The  Parsees  are  a remnant  of 
Zoroastrians  driven  from  Persia  in  the  seventh 
century  by  Mohammedan  persecution.  They 
are  called  the  Jews  of  India.  They  are  its 
great  merchants  and  traders.  They  reside  prin- 
105 


Religions  of 
the  Puigab 


106 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Religion  of 

Ancient 

Aborigines 


cipally  in  Bombay,  and  those  found  in  the  Pun- 
jab are  there  for  purposes  of  commerce  only. 

Religion  of  Ancient  Aborigines 

Almost  nothing  is  known  of  the  religion  of 
the  aborigines  of  India,  except  what  may  be 
gathered  from  hostile  references  in  the  Vedas, 
and  what  remnants  of  it  can  be  found  among 
the  aboriginal  tribes  still  living  in  India.  So 
far  as  can  be  recognized,  their  religion  seems 
to  have  been  animism,  a kind  of  demon  worship, 
which  peoples  all  things, — mountains,  streams, 
trees,  rocks, — with  demons.  It  is  really  pure 
demon  worship.  There  are  only  traces  of  pure 
animism  in  the  religion  of  the  aboriginal  races 
of  the  Punjab  to-day,  for  their  religious  thought 
and  worship  have  been  almost  entirely  Hin- 
duized. 

Hinduism 

While  the  Mohammedans  in  the  Punjab  some- 
what outnumber  the  Hindus,  the  Hindus  ante- 
date the  Mohammedans  almost  3,000  years. 
In  the  Punjab,  out  of  a population  of  nearly 
25,000,000,  there  are  over  10,000,000  Hindus. 

The  religious  books  of  the  Hindus  are  called 
the  Vedas.  They  are  a collection  of  hymns  and 
forms  of  worship.  The  people,  of  course,  claim 


THE  RELIGIONS 


107 


that  they  were  given  to  them  directly  from  the 
gods.  The  oldest,  most  authoritative  and  most  Reiigiou* 
important  of  the  books  of  the  Vedas,  was  prob-  Book8 
ably  composed  somewhere  between  2000  and 
1400  B.  C.  It  consists  of  1017  short  hymns. 

It  reveals  a form  of  Nature  worship,  and  al- 
though some  of  the  hymns  so  exalt  the  supre- 
macy of  the  deity  as  to  make  the  religion  almost 
appear  monotheistic,  others  undoubtedly  speak 
of  many  gods  sharing  in  deity.  In  these  early 
hymns,  there  is  no  mention  of  caste.  The  re- 
ligious system  is  patriarchal,  and  the  father  is 
the  priest.  It  gives  women  a place  of  respect 
and  honor.  After  this  oldest  of  the  books,  the 
Rig  Veda,  there  are  three  other  Vedas:  the 
Sama  Veda,  containing  hymns  of  sacrifice,  the 
Yajur  Veda,  containing  the  forms  of  service  in 
sacrifice,  and  the  Atharva  Veda,  which  deals 
principally  with  sorcery,  charms  and  spells. 

These  are  the  books  that  are  recognized  by  the 
Hindu  as  his  Bible.  Along  with  these  are  other 
books  of  tradition  that  are  almost  as  binding, 
such  as  Brahmanas,  Sutras  and  Puranas.  The 
latter,  like  the  Jewish  Talmud,  go  far  afield  in 
the  discussion  of  religious  niceties  of  belief  and 
conduct. 

While  the  early  hymns  reveal  the  fact  that 
the  early  Hindus  were  not  idolaters,  but  wor- 
shipped the  sun,  moon,  clouds,  mountains,  and 


108  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Hindu 

Idolatry 


rivers,  as  their  deities,  the  religion  degenerated 
into  the  grossest  idolatry.  Scattered  all  over 
India  are  the  shrines  of  these  idols,  containing 
images  ugly  and  revolting.  They  are  multi- 
plied on  every  side  and  are  made  of  many 
materials, — metal,  stone,  wood,  and  clay.  The 
educated  Hindu  will  explain  that  they  are 
but  helps  for  the  ignorant  in  their  attempts  to 
realize  God  through  these  mediums.  The  ordi- 
nary Hindu,  however,  worships  the  spirit  that 
resides  in  the  particular  idol,  and  to  him  the 
idol  is  God. 

Even  in  the  most  ancient  Vedic  hymns,  the 
idea  of  God  is  polytheistic.  There  was  the  god 
of  the  rain,  and  his  wife,  the  goddess  of  the 
furrow,  the  god  of  the  mountain,  of  the  river, 
of  the  sun,  of  the  moon,  and  of  the  stars. 

Later  Hinduism  developed  the  three  supreme 
gods,  or  the  Hindu  triad : Brahma,  the  Creator, 
Vishnu,  the  Preserver,  and  Shiva,  the  De- 
stroyer. These  are  not  in  any  sense  supposed 
to  be  one, — a trinity, — but  are  complementary 
in  their  activities  in  the  universe.  They  are 
even  set  up  as  rival  gods,  and  each  has  his  own 
special  votaries.  Besides  these  great  gods,  or 
subordinate  to  them,  are  countless  lesser  gods. 
It  is  held  that  of  these  there  are  330,000,000. 

Along  with  this  pronounced  idolatry,  there  is 
wrapped  up  in  Hinduism  the  fundamental  doc- 


THE  RELIGIONS 


109 


trine  of  pantheism.  They  believe  that  God  is 
everywhere  and  that  everything  is  an  emana- 
tion from  God.  There  is  also  a blind  belief 
in  fate.  A man’s  destiny  is  written  and  cannot 
be  altered  by  God  or  man.  Along  with  this  is  a 
superstition  amounting  to  animism  that  peoples 
all  things  with  demons;  and  every  tree,  stone, 
and  mountain,  and  every  month,  week  and  day, 
holds  some  terror  for  some  Hindu  mind.  While 
some  of  the  early  hymns  express  thoughts  of  the 
benignity  of  the  gods,  Hinduism  of  to-day,  at 
least,  is  almost  entirely  a religion  of  fear.  God 
is  a monster  revealed  in  millions  of  awful  forms. 

Another  notable  thing  in  their  idea  of  God 
is  the  fact  that  they  believe  in  innumerable  in- 
carnations of  God,  or  of  the  gods.  This  has  led 
to  the  worship  of  men,  whom  they  believe  to  be 
such  incarnations.  In  India  to-day,  there  are 
millions  of  men  trading  on  this  belief  of  the 
people.  By  some  form  of  asceticism,  or  by  the 
use  of  a strong  personality,  or  by  some  trick, 
they  persuade  men  that  they  are  incarnations, 
and  lo,  the  question  of  an  easy,  and  often  a lux- 
urious existence,  is  solved.  They  become  the  re- 
cipients of  the  gifts  to  the  gods.  This  evil  (to- 
gether with  a belief  in  the  merits  of  asceticism) 
has  so  spread  among  the  people  that  to-day 
there  are  over  4,000,000  mendicants  in  India. 

In  the  earliest  Hinduism,  there  was  a belief 


and 

Aunt 


110 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  a belief  in 
future  rewards  and  punishments.  The  more 
modern  belief  in  the  transmigration  of  the  soul, 
is  an  effort  of  a pantheistic  philosophy  to  explain 
the  mystery  of  existence.  Something  of  the 
early  Hindu  belief  may  be  gathered  from  this 
extract  from  an  early  Sanskrit  hymn : “Depart 
thou,  depart  thou,  by  the  ancient  paths  to  the 
place  where  our  fathers  have  departed.  Meet 
with  the  ancient  ones.  Meet  with  the  Lord  of 
Death.  Throw  off  thine  imperfections,  go  to 
thy  home.  Become  united  with  the  body. 
Clothe  thyself  in  the  shining  form.”  This 
hymn  teaches  the  passing  of  the  dead  imme- 
diately to  the  place  of  bliss.  Modern  Hinduism 
teaches  the  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of 
souls.  At  death,  all  the  deeds  of  the  life  are 
weighed,  and  if  the  man  is  found  worthy,  he  is 
re-incarnated  in  some  person  of  a higher  caste. 
If  his  life  has  been  evil,  he  is  re-incarnated  in 
a person  of  a lower  caste,  or  some  animal,  or  a 
shrub  or  tree.  The  teaching  is  that  the  life  must 
work  itself  up  by  its  own  efforts  through  thou- 
sands of  cycles,  until  finally  it  may  be  born  in 
a Brahman,  and,  having  in  that  form  attained 
to  the  perfect  separation  from  all  personal  de- 
sire, at  death  it  will  be  absorbed  into  God,  and 
lose  its  personality. 

Satan’s  supreme  effort  with  man  from  the 


THE  RELIGIONS 


111 


beginning  has  been  to  try  to  persuade  him  that 
he  is  not  a sinner,  or  that  sin  is  natural  to  man, 
or  that  sin  does  not  really  exist.  In  India, 
Satan  has  succeeded  to  a wonderful  degree  in 
persuading  men  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
sin.  The  Hindu  believes  that  matter  is  inher- 
ently evil,  and  that  the  gods  are  inherently  good. 
Man’s  soul  is  a part  of  the  divine,  united  to  the 
matter  of  the  body.  God  cannot  sin,  so  what 
man’s  soul  does  cannot  be  sin.  What  we  call  sin 
is  simply  the  divine  being  temporarily  subjected 
to  evil  matter  through  desire.  Hence  comes  the 
thought  that  all  desire  or  all  emotion  is  sin,  and 
also  the  effort  to  free  the  soul  from  all  desire  or 
emotion.  The  Hindu  calmly  makes  the  gods 
responsible  for  his  sin.  To  him,  sin  is  synony- 
mous with  breaking  the  laws  of  caste  or  con- 
tracting ceremonial  uncleanness.  Something  of 
the  stress  laid  upon  the  importance  of  maintain- 
ing caste  may  be  gathered  from  the  following 
quotation : “ The  person  who  should  retain  in 

his  memory  the  whole  Rig  Veda  would  be  ab- 
solved from  all  guilt,  even  if  he  had  slain  the  in- 
habitants of  the  three  worlds,  or  had  taken  food 
from  the  vilest  hands.”  The  slaying  of  all  man- 
kind is  put  upon  a moral  level  with  the  taking  of 
food  from  the  hands  of  a low-caste  man.  When 
the  Christian  uses  the  word  “sin”  in  talking 
with  the  Hindu,  it  means  to  the  Hindu  sorne- 


Hindu 
Doctrine 
ot  Sin 


112 


FAR  HORTH  IH  INDIA 


thing  vastly  weaker  than  the  Christian  intended. 
With  such  a philosophy  of  sin  and  moral  re- 
sponsibility, one  may  imagine  the  moral  chaos 
of  Hindu  society. 

In  fact,  the  Hindu  does  not  necessarily 
connect  the  matters  of  religion  with  morals. 
A man  will  calmly  ask  the  blessing  of  the  gods 
on  a sinful  undertaking,  and  will  sacrifice,  that 
he  may  accomplish  things  most  selfish.  So  im- 
partial and  candid  a writer  as  the  compiler  of 
the  Punjab  Census  Report  writes,*  in  discussing 
this  matter : “The  divine  manifestations  which 
form  the  objects  of  popular  worship  have,  as  a 
rule,  nothing  to  do  with  ethics ; human  actions 
are  controlled  not  by  them,  but  by  the  stars,  or 
by  omens  or  auguries.  Even  when  we  meet 
with  exceptions,  we  find  moral  precepts  subor- 
dinated to,  or  at  least  put  on  the  same  level,  as 
ceremonial  observances.  Of  this,  an  excellent 
example  is  afforded  by  the  Bishnoi  Tenets: 
‘ Bathe  in  the  morning.  Commit  no  adultery.’ 
The  two  rules  stand  on  an  equal  footing.”  The 
following  extract  from  Dhammapada  shows 
what  Buddha  revolted  against  in  Hinduism 
(and  it  is  most  probable  that  the  Hinduism  of 
to-day  is  only  more  corrupt  than  that  of 
Buddha’s  time).  “ Hot  nakedness,  not  platted 


* Punjab  Census  Report,  1901,  p.  160 


Typical  Indian  Fakirs 

There  are  said  to  be  four  million  religious  mendicants  in  India. 


THE  RELIGIONS 


113 


hair,  not  dirt,  not  fasting  or  lying  on  the  earth, 
nor  rubbing  with  dust,  nor  sitting  motionless, 
can  purify  a mortal  who  has  not  overcome  de- 
sires.” 

One  of  the  most  revolting  sights  in  India  is 
the  Hindu  holy  man  who  has  taken  the  vow 
never  to  work,  and  never  to  bathe  nor  dress  his 
hair,  and  yet  who  may  live  in  sin  and  be  revered 
by  the  Hindu  community  because  of  his  vow. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  no  men  of  high 
ideals  are  to  be  found  among  the  Hindus,  but 
where  such  men  are  found  they  are  those  who 
have  risen  above  the  moral  standards  of  their 
religion.  Among  the  Hindus  are  men  who  are 
powerful  thinkers,  men  who  are  patriots,  men 
whose  lives  show  forth  a determination  to  live 
according  to  the  highest  truth  they  can  find  any- 
where. Such  men,  however,  cannot  be  called 
the  product  of  Hinduism,  but  they  are  men 
who  have  risen  above  the  debasing  effects  of 
that  religion.  Neither  is  it  to  be  supposed 
that  in  Hinduism  there  is  no  truth  found,  nor 
beauty. 

In  the  Vedic  hymns  there  is  much  to  admire, 
and  their  sages  have  spoken  many  excellent 
things,  but  their  religion  is  fundamentally 
wrong,  according  to  any  adequate  conception  of 
God,  or  of  man,  or  of  man’s  relation  to  God. 
The  proof  of  a religion  must  be  the  life  of  its 
8 


Some 
Hiudus 
Noble  Men 


114  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Fruit  of 
Hinduism 


Arya 

SomaJ 


professors.  Judged  by  this  standard,  even  those 
most  infatuated  with  the  teaching  of  some 
soft-spoken  swami  in  a Western  land,  or  one 
most  fascinated  by  the  mysticism  of  the  risliis, 
must  admit  that  he  would  not  wish  to  exchange 
the  fruit  of  Christianity  in  his  own  land  for  the 
fruit  of  Hinduism  in  India.  May  God  ever 
deliver  America  from  the  base  things  that  have 
grown  out  of  the  teachings  of  Hinduism,  or  have 
sprung  up  and  flourished  in  India  side  by  side 
with  that  religion. 

That  modern  Hinduism  will  not  stand  the 
light  of  Christianity  and  of  Western  civilization 
and  morals,  may  be  proved  from  the  present 
efforts  of  the  best  educated  and  most  thoughtful 
Indians.  The  attitude  of  the  somajs,  or  reform 
societies  among  Hindus,  proves  that  Hindu 
thinkers  are  keenly  feeling  the  need  of  radical 
change.  The  most  Hindu  of  these  efforts  is  the 
Arya  Somaj.  This  reform  society  claims  to 
be  wholly  religious,  and  is  an  attempt  to  go 
back  of  the  books  of  tradition,  for  all  authority 
in  things  religious,  to  the  books  of  the  Vedic 
Hymns  themselves.  In  theory  they  repudiate 
caste,  denounce  child  marriage,  encourage  the 
re-marriage  of  widows,  and  renounce  the  prac- 
tice of  idolatry.  They  claim  that  all  treasures 
of  knowledge  of  all  kinds  are  stored  up  in  the 
Vedas.  They  say  that  in  the  golden  age  of  Hin- 


THE  RELIGIONS 


115 


duism  all  things  discovered  or  developed  by 
modern  science  were  well  known,  and  even 
many  things  that  modern  science  has  not  yet 
developed.  They  take  Sanskrit  words  and 
make  them  mean  telegraph,  and  railway,  and 
airship.  Their  religious  book,  Satyarath 
Prakash,  which  sets  forth  their  views  and 
teachings,  they  have  lately  translated  into 
English.  One  need  read  it  only  casually  to 
appreciate  something  of  how,  in  breaking 
away  from  mysticism,  they  have  become  grossly 
materialistic  in  all  their  conceptions  of  things 
religious,  and  have  distorted  still  more  their  vis- 
ions of  moral  truth’.  Their  attacks  upon  other 
religions,  such  as  Mohammedanism  and  Chris- 
tianity, are  not  only  malignant,  but,  to  one  who 
knows  the  religion  attacked,  weak,  for  they 
break  all  the  common  rules  of  research,  and  ab- 
solutely disregard  truth  and  logic. 

This  somaj  seems  to  be  Satan’s  last  great 
effort  to  bind  the  Hindu  to  his  own  king- 
dom. Under  the  cloak  of  religious  organization 
and  teaching,  appeal  is  made  to  religious  fanat- 
icism, with  civil  freedom  as  the  end  in  view. 
While  claiming  to  he  a religious  society  it  is  in 
reality  a political  party. 

At  the  other  extreme  of  the  reform  societies 
is  the  Brahmo-Somaj.  It  is  the  least  Hindu  of 
all  somajs.  It  has  broken  away  from  the  tra- 


116 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Brahmo 

Somaj 


ditions  of  caste,  and  child  marriage,  and  the 
non-marriage  of  widows,  but  what  the  Arya 
Somaj  has  done  in  profession  only,  the  Brahmo 
Somaj  is  doing  in  practice.  Their  founder  was 
himself  a real  seeker  after  truth,  and  has  drawn 
to  his  creed  many  earnest,  honest  men.  They 
take  the  ground  that  no  religious  creed  is  with- 
out truth,  but  also  that  none  is  without  error, 
and  they  have  made  their  religion  entirely  eclec- 
tic. In  the  homes  of  some  of  these  people  is  to 
be  found  the  Bible,  and  not  a few  pray  to  God 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  take  the  Bible  as  the 
rule  of  their  lives'.  It  seems  possible  that  some 
day  soon,  this  somaj  may  declare  its  allegiance 
to  Christ,  and  certainly  many  of  its  members 
will  soon  be  gathered  into  existing  Churches. 

The  downfall  of  Hinduism  is,  of  course,  in- 
evitable, and  its  rapid  decay  is  apparent. 
Neither  its  religion,  its  philosophy,  nor  its 
morals,  can  stand  the  test  of  Christian  religion, 
and  logic,  and  civilization.  Speaking  of  it,  the 
compiler  of  the  Punjab  Census  Report  of  1901 
says : “The  main  points  to  notice  are  the  slow 
rate  at  which  the  Hindu  population  is  increas- 
ing in  numbers,  and  the  tendency  to  abandon 
the  older  creeds  for  the  organized  societies  of 
modern  times.” 

In  the  rapid  decay  of  Hinduism  lies  a great 
opportunity  for  the  Church.  Hinduism  is 


THE  RELIGIONS 


117 


crumbling.  Its  thinking  men  cannot  long  hold 
to  its  teachings.  Many  of  them  have  already 
drifted  into  agnosticism.  A few  of  them  have 
come  into  the  Church  of  Christ.  The  oppor- 
tunity to  win  these  men  to  the  truth  is  great,  and 
the  immediate  need  is  urgent.  Will  the  Church 
arise,  and,  with  a vison  of  the  supreme  need, 
make  the  necessary  effort  so  to  present  Christ 
to  the  Hindus  that  these  noble  brothers  of  a 
common  blood  may  be  won  from  the  power  of 
Satan  to  the  liberty  of  Christ  ? 


Mohammedanism 

In  the  year  570  A.  D.,  was  born  a man  who 
was  to  exercise  for  some  centuries  a most  com- 
manding influence  upon  India.  Mohammed’s 
life  proved  him  to  be  one  of  the  strongest  per- 
sonalities in  the  annals  of  the  world’s  history. 
He  was  born  among  idolaters,  but  like  many 
men  of  noble  minds  so  born,  his  soul  revolted 
against  idolatry.  So  strong  were  his  convic- 
tions that  he  set  out  to  reform  the  faith  of  his 
fathers.  At  first,  he  met  with  little  success, 
and  with  much  persecution.  During  these  days 
of  his  efforts  at  reformation,  he  came  into  con- 
tact with  Jews  and  with  Christians,  and,  mak- 
ing some  inquiry  into  their  teachings,  he  was 


Decay  of 

Hinduism 

the 

Church’s 

Opportun- 

ity 


Mohammed 


118 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Creed  and 
Scriptures 


favorably  impressed  with  them.  The  Jews, 
however,  he  found  narrow  and  bigoted,  and  the 
Christians  he  thought  he  found  guilty  of  poly- 
theism, worshipping  the  Father,  and  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  Christ  their  Son,  and  also  worship- 
ping images  and  pictures,  as  did  the  other  idola- 
ters against  whom  he  was  protesting. 

He  despaired  of  finding  truth  with  either 
Jews  or  Christians  in  the  days  of  his  seeking, 
and,  afterward,  in  the  days  of  his  conquest,  he 
found  himself  unable  to  bind  them  to  his  will ; 
so  he  entirely  cut  loose  from  both,  and  formed 
a faith  of  his  own.  The  creed  of  Mohamme- 
danism is  the  shortest  in  the  world.  It  is, 
“There  is  no  God  but  Allah,  and  Mohammed 
is  the  prophet  of  God.”  For  a man  to  become  a 
Mohammedan  it  is  necessary  only  that  he  repeat 
these  words,  and  he  is  one  of  the  faithful,  or 
ready  to  be  initiated  by  a single  religous  rite. 
The  religious  book  of  the  Mohammedans  is  the 
Koran,  which  they  claim  descended  directly 
from  God  through  the  mouth  of  Mohammed. 
They  claim  inspiration  for  its  every  word,  or 
its  every  letter,  and  it  must  be  the  rule  of  life. 
Around  the  Koran  has  gathered  a great  mass 
of  traditional  literature,  called  the  Hadith,* 
and,  to  a greater  or  less  extent,  this  is  ac- 


* In  India  pronounced  Hadis. 


THE  RELIGIONS 


119 


knowledged  to  be  binding  in  faith  and  practice. 

While  Mohammedans  are  most  devoted  to 
their  book,  they  have  not  depended  upon  its 
power  to  convert  men,  but  have  declared  it  to 
be  their  duty  to  compel  men  to  bow  to  the  rule 
of  the  prophet  or  die,  so  their  religion  has 
been  a great  missionary  religion  propagated  by 
the  sword.  As  early  as  711  A.  D.,  Mohamme- 
danism attempted  to  enter  India,  but  it  made  no 
permanent  impression  until  the  year  1000,  as 
has  been  noted.  The  rapid  growth  of  its  power 
and  influence  may  be  seen  when  it  is  remem- 
bered, that  in  five  centuries  it  had  spread  itself 
all  over  India  and  had  established  in  that  land 
the  strongest  empire  India  had  ever  known. 
The  Indian  soil  seems  to  have  been  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  Mohammedanism,  for 
to-day  there  are  nearly  65,000,000  Moslems  in 
India,  more  than  there  are  in  any  other  country 
in  the  world,  and  two-sevenths  of  all  the  Mos- 
lems in  the  world. 

To  many  the  rapid  spread  of  Islam  has 
seemed  a miracle,  but  the  cause  for  this  rapid 
spread  is  not  far  to  seek.  A study  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Koran  will  show  that  while  much 
truth  is  to  be  found  in  it,  it  is  full  of  teaching 
that  allows  the  grossest  license  to  the  worst  in 
human  nature.  Man  is  required  to  restrain  lust 
in  this  life  only  so  far  as  suited  the  purpose  of 


Growth  of 
Islam 


120 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Mohammed  in  his  own  day  and  for  his  own 
ends,  and  Mohammed  freed  himself  even  from 
the  law  he  formed  for  others,  by  making  for 
himself  a special  dispensation  as  the  specially 
favored  prophet  of  Allah.  The  rewards  offered 
to  the  faithful  for  the  future  life  are  the  most 
grossly  sensual.  A man’s  salvation  does  not 
even  depend  upon  moral  action,  but  upon  ad- 
herence to  the  laws  of  Mohammed  and  faith  in 
him.  Many  Westerners  give  Mohammedanism 
credit  of  which  it  is  unworthy,  because  they 
have  not  taken  the  pains  to  study  the  Koran 
as  it  is.  They  have  heard  some  truths  quoted 
from  the  Koran,  but  never  have  taken  the 
trouble  to  weigh  the  trae  and  the  false  in  it  and 
arrive  at  a correct  opinion  as  to  what  its  funda- 
mental teachings  really  are.  It  is  not  much 
wonder  that  men  do  not  study  the  Koran,  for 
of  it  Carlyle  (who  certainly  could  not  be  said 
to  be  prejudiced  against  Mohammed)  said:  “I 
must  say,  it  is  as  toilsome  reading  as  I ever 
undertook.  A wearisome,  confused  jtimble, 
crude,  incondite,  endless  iterations,  long-wind- 
edness, entangling,  most  crude,  incondite,  in- 
supportable stupidity.  In  short,  nothing  but  a 
sense  of  duty  could  carry  any  European  through 
the  Koran.”  Most  that  is  really  good  in  the 
Koran  is  a very  bare  plagiarism  from  the  Bible, 
and  its  claims  to  inspiration  are  patently  false. 


Hindu  Priest 

Note  idols,  and  bowls,  conch  shells  and  other  articles  used  in  idol  worship. 


Mo  H A M M ED  A N MO-SQl'  E 

Type  of  Moslem  architecture  in  India,  among  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world. 
Still  in  process  of  building. 


THE  RELIGIONS 


121 


The  strong  point  of  the  Mohammedan  creed 
has  always  been  its  profession  of  the  unity  of 
God.  It  has  been  this  that  has  appealed  so 
strongly  to  many  Westerners.  The  Westerner 
who  is  satisfied  with  Mohammed’s  monotheism, 
should  take  the  pains  to  inquire  what  manner 
of  god  his  one  god  is.  If  the  moral  laws  of 
Islam  are  the  moral  laws  of  Allah,  any  man 
having  the  Christian  idea  of  God  will  find  it 
impossible  to  give  to  the  one  Allah  the  place  of 
the  one  God. 

The  Moslem  says  that  Allah  is  one,  and  that 
beyond  that  we  can  know  little  of  him.  Chris- 
tianity teaches  that  God  is  very  near  to  man, 
and  makes  every  effort  to  reconcile  man  and 
God.  Islam  teaches  that  Allah  is  infinitely  re- 
moved from  man,  and  is  so  great  that  he  has 
little  concern  with  the  affairs  of  man.  The 
Moslem  names  ninety-nine  attributes  of  Allah, 
such  as  his  might,  his  justice,  his  mercy,  but 
nowhere  in  the  Koran  is  it  hinted  that  Allah 
loves  men,  nor  is  it  taught  by  Moslems.  To  the 
Moslem,  God  is  an  object  of  terror,  not  of  love 
and  devotion.  In  fact  the  Moslem  has  little  to 
do  with  God.  It  is  a common  saying  among 
them  that  the  creation  of  man,  and  the  ruling 
of  his  destiny  are  but  the  sport  of  Allah.  Mos- 
lems are  fatalists  of  the  most  rigid  type.  God 
has  predestined  the  whole  of  every  man’s  fu- 


Moslem 
Idea  of  God 


122 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Doctrine 

Sin 


ture.  It  is  all  minutely  written  out  and  man 
cannot  change  a single  detail.  Whatever  hap- 
pens to  man  is  the  will  of  Allah,  and  the  boasted 
submission  of  the  Moslem  to  God’s  will  is  only 
the  blindest  fatalism.  It  is  not  much  to  be  won- 
dered at,  that  while  Islam  has  made  the  Moslem 
strong  enough  to  lift  himself  above  his  pan- 
theistic and  polytheistic  neighbors,  it  has  made 
him  hard,  and  proud,  and  cruel.  A man’s  idea 
of  God  will  stamp  itself  not  only  upon  his  spirit, 
hut  upon  his  mind  and  body.  God  has  made 
man  in  His  own  likeness,  and  as  Christ  shines 
out  through  the  face  and  life  of  the  true  Chris- 
tian, Allah  manifests  himself  in  the  face  and 
life  of  the  Moslem.  The  Word  teaches  us  that 
they  that  make  idols  are  like  unto  them.  A 
man  is  like  his  god,  the  Moslem  like  his  Allah. 

While  the  Moslem  has  a much  more  adequate 
conception  of  sin  than  the  Hindu,  having  bor- 
rowed much  of  this  truth  from  the  Bible,  he 
realizes  almost  nothing  of  the  enormity  of  sin. 
Man  is  so  far  removed  from  God,  and  God  cares 
so  little  for  man,  and  God  has  so  absolutely 
of  bound  man  to  his  fate,  that  the  Moslem,  like  the 
Hindu,  easily  throws  the  responsibility  of  his 
sin  upon  God.  Some  great  sins  against  God 
and  crimes  against  man  he  will  simply  pass  over 
with  the  remark  that  man  is  weak  and  God  is 
merciful,  while  upon  other  trifling  breaches  of 


THE  RELIGIONS 


123 


observances  of  social  laws  he  will  pronounce  the 
most  awful  imprecations. 

The  reward  promised  by  Mohammed  to  his 
followers,  too  well  accorded  with  the  life  he 
lived.  He  filled  heaven  with  the  most  sensual 
pleasures,  which  were  to  be  eternal.  He  pro- 
mised that  a man’s  appetites  should  never  grow 
jaded,  and  that  in  the  richest  abundance  pro- 
vison  should  be  made  for  them  all.  Those  who 
proved  unfaithful  to  Islam  were  warned  of  the 
most  awful  punishment  awaiting  them.  He 
seemed  to  take  peculiar  delight  in  recounting 
the  terrors  of  the  hell  awaiting  his  enemies. 

The  Moslem,  while  possessing  more  of  moral 
and  theological  truth  than  the  Hindu,  is  much 
less  restrained  in  his  immorality.  The  Hindu 
is  restrained  from  at  least  some  excesses  of  vice 
by  his  caste  system,  but  the  Moslem  is  given 
much  greater  liberty,  and  he  generally  makes 
use  of  his  privileges.  In  no  other  religion  is 
woman  so  debased.  The  marriage  vow  means 
almost  nothing,  as  far  as  the  contracting  man 
is  concerned.  By  a word  he  breaks  it  at  will, 
without  having  to  answer  to  any  one.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Koran,  he  may  have  as  many  as 
four  wives  at  one  time,  and  as  many  concubines 
as  his  wealth  will  allow.  Among  the  more 
pretentious  there  is  the  most  rigid  seclusion  of 
women. 


124 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The  Koran 
and  Morals 


The  Moslem’s  most  conspicuous  religious  du- 
ties are  to  say  liis  prayers  at  the  five  stated  times 
iu  the  day,  and  to  keep  the  yearly  fast.  The 
man  who  remembers  his  prayers  and  keeps  the 
fast  is  counted  faithful  without  regard  to  his 
moral  life. 

Concerning  the  relation  of  the  Koran  to 
morals,  this  might  be  said,  that  if  a man  should 
practice  all  the  good  there  is  in  the  Koran  and 
none  of  its  evil,  he  would  approach  more  nearly 
to  the  true  religion  than  any  non-Christian  could 
by  following  the  truth  he  learns  in  his  religious 
books.  But  if  he  should  practise  all  the  evil 
allowed  by  his  book,  he  would  debase  him- 
self morally  and  socially  as  much  as  do  the  fol- 
lowers of  any  non-Christian  religion.  The  ele- 
ment of  good  in  the  Koran  has  enabled  Islam  to 
conquer  widely,  and  often  to  rule  strongly  for 
a time,  but  the  element  of  evil  always  prevails 
when  a certain  stage  of  civilization  has  been 
reached,  and  what  has  been  built  topples  to  the 
ground.  The  Moslem  has  been  strong  to  plun- 
der other  men  and  live  on  the  wealth  and  thrift 
and  industry  of  those  enslaved  to  himself,  but 
he  has  never  been  strong  to  construct.  Concern- 
ing Islam  a government  otficial  writes  in  the 
Punjab  Census  Report,  1901,  thus:  “It  is 
hardly  possible  to  take  up  a Punjab  Settlement 


THE  RELIGIONS 


125 


Report  without  finding  a lament  over  the  short- 
comings of  the  Mohammedan  as  a cultivator, 
his  lack  of  energy,  his  thriftlessness,  his  capacity 
for  going  hopelessly  into  debt.” 

There  are  many  strong  and  thoughtful  men 
among  Indian  Moslems,  and  some  who  have 
laid  hold  of  the  good  in  their  religion,  and,  to  a 
great  extent,  rejected  the  evil,  and  among  some 
such  men  there  is  a definite  movement  to  reform 
Islam.  This  movement  is  known  as  the  New 
Islam  Movement.  These  men  entirely  repudi- 
ate the  authority  of  th^  Hadith  or  books  of  tra- 
dition. The  parts  of  the  Koran  that  are  im- 
moral they  interpret  figuratively,  and  attempt 
generally  to  patch  up  that  book  to  hide  its  de- 
fects. They  have  made  great  advances,  and  are 
strongly  denounced  by  their  co-religionists  in 
India  and  other  Moslem  lands.  Even  a few 
missionaries  have  spoken  hopefully  of  the  re- 
form of  Islam,  but  to  one  who  really  believes 
in  Christ  and  Christian  truth,  the  task  must, 
upon  full  consideration,  appear  hopeless.  The 
Koran  has  no  atonement  for  sin,  it  has  no 
Saviour,  it  offers  no  life  of  fellowship  with  God, 
it  does  not  offer  a system  of  morals  that  could 
be  accepted  by  enlightened  people  to-day,  even 
if  the  evil  were  eliminated.  To  attempt  to  put 
the  life  of  Christianity  into  it  is  surely  to  put 


The 

New  Islam 
Movement 


126 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Th» 

Ahmadiyas 


new  wine  into  an  old  wine-skin.  However,  one 
good  is  already  beginning  to  be  manifested — 
the  wine-skin  is  bursting. 

That  there  is  great  unrest  in  the  ranks  of 
Islam  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  besides  the  new 
Islam  there  has  sprung  up  a heretical  sect  of 
Moslems  in  India  called  the  Mirzaites  or  Ahma- 
diyas. Those  of  this  sect  are  followers  of  the 
Mirza  Ahmed,  of  Kadiyan,  a village  in  the 
District  of  Gurdaspur,  Punjab.  The  Mirza 
began  to  proclaim  himself  to  be  John  the  Bap- 
tist returned  to  earth,  and  foretold  the  second 
coming  of  Christ.  But  in  later  years,  he 
claimed  to  be  Christ  Himself  returned  to  the 
earth.  He  was  an  ignorant  man,  and  crude, 
and  bigoted,  and  vain,  but  before  his  death,  in 
1908,  he  had  succeeded  in  amassing  a large  for- 
tune from  the  gifts  of  his  followers,  and  had 
established  a sect  of  Mohammedans  in  India 
numbered  by  tens  of  thousands.  He  was  the 
Eastern  contemporary,  and  almost  the  counter- 
part, of  Alexander  Dowie,  but  in  the  Orient  he 
dared  go  a step  farther  than  Dowie  did  in  the 
West.  Where  Dowie  finally  failed  in  a Chris- 
tian land,  the  Mirza  succeeded  in  a Moslem 
land.  Such  a man  as  Mirza,  Mohammed  must 
have  been,  successful  in  his  life,  now  glorified 
by  the  praises  of  his  followers,  and  having  his 


THE  RELIGIONS 


127 


defects  softened  by  the  kindly  distance  of 
centuries. 


Sikhism 

Of  all  the  religions  in  the  Punjab,  except 
Christianity,  the  Sikh  religion  is  the  most  alive, 
according  to  the  census  of  1901.  During  the  de- 
cade ending  in  1901,  the  Hindus  had  increased 
only  at  the  rate  of  2.4  per  cent.,  and  the  Mos- 
lems at  the  rate  of  9.5  per  cent.,  while  the  Sikhs 
had  increased  at  the  rate  of  13.9  per  cent. 

The  Sikhs  are  really  a reform  sect  of  Hin- 
dus. The  founder  of  their  religion,  Guru 
Nanak  Shah,  was  horn  in  1469,  in  a village  of 
Gujranwala  District,  Punjab.  His  teachings 
were  a revolt  against  idolatry  and  caste.  The 
religious  book  of  the  Sikhs  is  the  Granth,  which 
is  a collection  of  hymns  composed  by  Nanak 
and  the  succeeding  gurus  or  teachers. 

Some  of  these  contain  much  sublime  truth, 
and  some  are  evidently  the  records  of  a soul 
seeking  after  God.  This  book  is  written  in  a 
language  called  Gurmukhi,  or  the  Guru  tongue. 
It  is  only  a reduction  to  writing  of  the  language 
of  the  people  of  the  day,  in  a new  character. 

A converted  Sikh  priest  is  now  advancing  a 
theory  that  seems  not  improbable,  that  Nanak 
himself  came  in  contact  with  Roman  Catholic 


Beginning 
of  Sikhism 


Possible 

Christian 

Origin 


128 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


missionaries  in  India  during  his  time,  or  with 
some  decadent  form  of  Christian  teaching,  and 
was  himself  a simple,  but  poorly  instructed 
Christian.  That,  true  to  Christian  missionary 
instinct,  he  became  a teacher  of  others  in  the 
truth  he  had  received  and  accepted.  He  had 
no  Bible,  and  losing  contact  with  missionaries, 
his  teaching  quickly  conformed  itself  to  the 
surrounding  Hinduism,  in  the  mouths  of  the 
gurus  following  him,  until,  to-day,  it  is  a 
thing  as  foreign  to  Christianity  as  is  Sikhism. 
This  theory  seems  plausible  because  of  the  pres- 
ence of  missionaries  in  India  at  that  time,  and 
because  of  the  resemblance  of  much  of  the 
teaching  of  the  Granth  to  Christian  teaching. 
The  Sikhs  also  practice  the  rite  of  baptism,  and 
at  the  time  of  the  initiation  of  new  converts, 
have  a rite  easily  reminding  one  of  the  Lord’s 
Supper.  Even  if  this  theory  could  be  proved, 
however,  it  would  be  a matter  of  historical  in- 
terest only,  for  the  Sikh  of  to-day  is  a long  way 
from  the  teachings  of  Christ. 

Sikhism  does  seem  to  have  broken  away  from 
idolatry.  It  has  not  succeeded  in  breaking 
with  the  caste  system.  Sikhs,  however,  are  in 
a large  measure  less  rigid  in  the  observance  of 
caste  caste  than  Hindus,  but,  to  the  Westerner,  the 

difference  is  not  great,  so  far  as  any  social  bene- 
fit is  concerned. 


Golden  Temple  at  Amritsar 


THE  RELIGIONS 


129 


Except  for  the  rejecting  of  idolatry,  his 
ideas  of  God,  and  sin,  and,  in  fact,  all  his  re- 
ligious ideas,  are  almost  exactly  like  those  of 
the  Hindu. 

Of  five  distinguishing  marks  required  by 
his  religion,  two  make  him  easily  recognizable 
from  the  Hindu,  at  sight.  One  is  the  iron 
bracelet  which  he  must  always  wear  from  the 
time  of  his  initiation  in  his  boyhood,  and  the 
other  his  uncut  hair  and  beard,  for  he  is  never 
allowed  to  shave  his  face  nor  cut  his  hair. 

Many  of  the  teachings  of  the  Sikh’s  re- 
ligion are  excellent,  but  his  history  simply  goes 
to  prove  the  impossibility  of  reforming  man- 
kind by  setting  before  him  excellent  laws  and 
high  ideals.  He  must  have  a power  from  with- 
out himself  to  strengthen  him,  and  a life  to 
energize  him.  The  Sikh  religion  forbids,  for 
instance,  the  use  of  strong  drink,  while  Sikhs 
are  great  users  of  intoxicants.  In  some  com- 
munities they  are  disgustingly  degraded  in  un- 
namable  immoralities.  They  are  not  to  be 
depended  upon  for  truthfulness  any  more  than 
the  Moslems,  if  as  much.  They  are  a strong, 
brave  race  of  people,  and  have  been  highly 
praised  by  the  present  government,  because 
of  the  invaluable  service  rendered  during  the 
Mutiny,  but  they  need  Christianity  to  give 
them  even  common  morality.  They  are  gen- 
9 


Sikh 
KeUgion 
and  Morals 


130 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Sikh* 

and  Reform 


Chnhra 
Religion 
and  Morals 


erally  thrifty  and  ambitious,  and  above  the 
average  in  intelligence. 

Many  of  the  Sikhs  in  the  Punjab  are  becom- 
ing attached  to  the  Hindu  reform  societies,  par- 
ticularly to  the  Arya  Somaj.  They  are  even 
quicker  than  the  Hindu  to  recognize  the  need 
of  reform  and  to  adapt  themselves  to  new  con- 
ditions, and  when  the  time  is  ripe  for  the  re- 
form societies  to  take  the  further  step  into  the 
Church,  it  is  likely  that  the  Sikh  will  be  among 
the  foremost.  There  has  been  quite  a number 
of  converts  from  the  higher  ranks  of  the  Sikhs 
in  the  Province,  noteworthy  among  whom  is 
Rajah  Sir  Ilarnam  Singh,  who  surrendered  his 
kingdom  rather  than  surrender  his  faith. 


Religion  of  the  Chuhras 

Last  among  the  religions  of  the  Punjab  is 
that  of  the  Chuhras.  Sometimes  they  are 
counted  as  Hindus,  but,  although  they  have 
many  customs  in  common  with  these,  they  are 
not  Hindus  in  religion,  and  are  not  at  all 
recognized  by  them  as  a part  of  their  so- 
ciety. As  has  been  noted,  they  are  of  the 
aboriginal  people.  From  among  them  some 
have  become  Moslems  and  some  have  become 
Sikhs,  while  in  these  days  great  numbers  of 


THE  RELIGIONS 


131 


them  are  becoming  Christians.  The  mass  of 
them,  however,  still  have  their  own  religion. 
They  claim  as  their  leader  a holy  man  of  the 
past,  and  name  their  idol,  or  altar,  after  him. 
This  altar  is  made  of  mud  and  stands  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  village.  About  all  these  people  could 
be  said  to  possess  of  religion,  is  a remnant  of 
religious  instinct.  Their  ideas  of  God  are  very 
vague.  Remnants  of  the  ancient  religion 
of  their  ancestors,  animism  or  demon  worship, 
appear  among  them.  It  could  not  be  expected 
that  they  should  have  very  exalted  ideas  of 
God,  nor  very  clear  ideas  of  morality,  consider- 
ing the  intellectual,  moral,  and  physical  de- 
gradation into  which  they  have  been  forced 
and  in  which  they  have  been  held  for  thousands 
of  years.  Physically  they  have  suffered  less 
than  in  any  other  way,  for  they  have  been 
the  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  in  prosperous  times 
have  been  able  to  earn  and  filch  enough  to  eat, 
and  their  labor  has  been  enough  in  the  open  air 
to  keep  them  robust  and  vigorous.  While  phys- 
ically they  are  generally  well-formed  and 
strong,  and  perhaps  have  fewer  of  the  sensual 
vices  than  the  higher  grades  of  society,  intel- 
lectually they  have  been  reduced  almost  to  the 
level  of  lower  animals  by  withholding  education 
from  them,  and  considering  and  treating  them 
only  as  intelligent  animals.  Of  a moral  stan- 


132 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The 

Chuhras 

and 

Christianity 


Failure  of 

India’s 

Religions 


dard  they  have  almost  no  idea.  In  reviewing 
the  religions  of  India,  though,  one  can  more 
quickly  overlook  their  shortcomings  than  those 
of  the  followers  of  any  other  religion,  for  they 
have  not  been  enjoying  more  than  the  faintest 
glimmer  of  light.  Knowing  their  poverty,  and 
their  social  degradation,  and  their  intellectual 
blindness,  one  wonders  to  find  in  them  anything 
of  a conscience  or  of  a religious  nature. 

When  coming  into  contact  with  the  Gospel, 
they  have  not  had  to  overcome  caste  prejudice 
as  has  the  Hindu,  nor  race  pride  and  bigotry 
as  has  the  Moslem.  Thousands  of  them  have 
listened  to  the  story  of  the  Christ,  and  in  their 
childlike  minds  been  touched  by  it,  and  won  to 
Him.  No  doubt  many  have  sought  Chris- 
tianity with  lower  motives,  but,  in  most  mis- 
sions, rules  for  admission  have  been  made  strict, 
and  the  examination  of  candidates  thorough, 
and  enough  barriers  placed  in  the  way  to  ex- 
clude the  insincere.  If  there  were  only  la- 
borers enough  in  the  field,  there  is  no  obvious 
reason  why,  with  the  continued  blessing  of  God, 
the  Chuhras  as  a religious  sect  should  not  be  left 
out  of  the  census  of  1921,  and  this  people  have 
become  Christian  some  time  before  that. 

Hinduism,  and  Mohammedanism,  and  Sikh- 
ism, all  have  had  ample  time  to  lift  India  out  of 
her  degradation  had  they  had  the  power  to  do  so, 


THE  RELIGIONS 


133 


but  they  have  most  signally  failed.  It  is  only 
the  insincere  or  the  inexperienced  or  the  in- 
competent student  of  any  of  the  religions  of 
the  Punjab,  who  could  claim  a hope  that  any 
or  all  of  them  could  ever  lift  the  race  out  of 
its  degradation.  Beside  being  defective  as  a 
means  of  bringing  man  back  into  communion 
with  God,  all  of  them  are  most  sadly  defective 
as  moral  systems.  While  some  carpers  at  mis- 
sions and  some  who  would  be  recognized  as  stu- 
dents of  comparative  religion  are  displaying 
the  unripeness  of  their  judgment  in  the  mat- 
ter of  religions  in  India,  the  best  elements  of 
Indian  thought  and  culture,  and  many  of  her 
sons  who  have  India’s  good  most  at  heart,  are 
admitting  to  themselves  and  the  inner  circle  of 
their  friends,  and  some  are  even  saying  openly, 
that  the  only  hope  for  India,  even  politically 
and  morally,  is  for  her  to  become  Christian. 
For  centuries  her  religions  have  been  weighed 
in  the  balances  and  found  wanting. 


GENERAL  SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS 


“ Their  names  are  names  of  kings 
Of  heavenly  line, 

The  bliss  of  earthly  things 
Who  did  resign. 

“ Chieftains  they  were,  who  warr’d 
With  sword  and  shield  ; 

Victors  for  God  the  Lord 
On  foughten  field. 

* * * * * 

“ A city  of  great  name 
Was  built  for  them, 

Of  glorious  golden  fame — 
Jerusalem. 

“ Redeemed  with  precious  Blood 
From  death  and  sin, 

Sons  of  the  Triune  God, 

They  entered  in. 

“ So  did  the  life  of  pain 
In  glory  close  ; 

Lord  God,  may  we  attain 
Their  gTand  repose  ! ’ ’ 


— S.  J.  Stone. 


V. 


A GENERAL  SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS. 

IT  may  seem  like  an  unworthy  treatment 
of  a great  theme  to  devote  but  a single 
chapter  to  a general  survey  of  the  mission- 
ary movement  in  India.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  may  appear  to  be  too  liberal  a concession  of 
space  when  this  handbook  is  committed  to  the 
presentation  of  a half  century  of  missionary 
work,  engaging  the  lives  of  no  less  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four  missionaries  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America. 
Two  facts,  however,  justify  the  allowance  of  at 
least  one  chapter  and  so  much  as  one  chapter,  to 
this  general  theme.  On  the  one  hand,  the 
general  missionary  movement  in  India  is  of 
supreme  interest.  Even  a brief  reference  to 
it  may  suffice  to  lead  the  reader  to  pursue  his 
reading  further,  that  he  may  enjoy  the  spir- 
itual quickening  which  belongs  to  this  inspir- 
ing story.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a unity 
to  the  missionary  movement  in  India  which 
137 


138 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


makes  it  impossible  to  appreciate  tlie  work  of 
any  single  Mission  without  recognizing  its  re- 
lation to  other  missionary  work.  Of  necessity, 
however,  this  general  survey  must  be  of  the 
briefest  sort 


THE  EARLIEST  TIMES. 


Earliest 

Times 


Tradition 

about 

Thomas 


“ The  history  of  Indian  missions  goes  back 
to  the  earliest  period  of  Church  history,”  says 
Richter,  “ possibly  as  far  back  as  the  first  cen- 
tury of  the  Christian  era.”  Unfortunately,  it 
is  impossible  to  trace  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  India  during  this  early 
period.  It  is  only  possible  to  record  certain 
disconnected  traces  of  its  early  existence. 

An  apocryphal  book,  called  “ Acts  of  the 
Holy  Apostle  Thomas,”  has  the  following 
record : “ We  portioned  out  the  religions  of 

the  world,  in  order  that  each  one  of  us  might 
go  into  the  region  to  which  the  Lord  sent  him. 
By  lot,  then,  India  fell  to  Judas  Thomas,  also 
called  Didymus.  And  he  did  not  wish  to  go, 
saying  that  he  was  not  able  to  go  on  account 
of  the  weakness  of  the  flesh ; ‘ and  how  can  I, 
being  an  Hebrew  man,  go  among  the  Indians 
to  proclaim  the  truth  ? ’ ” After  this,  the  Lord 
appeared  to  Thomas  and  personally  exhorted 
him  to  go.  The  next  day,  as  the  story  runs, 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS 


139 


Thomas  was  sold  as  a slave  carpenter  to  one 
Abbanes  from  India,  who  purchased  him  for 
his  king,  whose  name  was  Gondophares.  Thus 
Thomas  was  taken  to  India  and  became  the 
first  Christian  missionary  to  that  country.  The 
traditional  story  is  full  of  glaring  historical 
impossibilities,  but  there  may  be  some  basis 
of  truth  for  the  story.  Numerous  coins  have 
been  discovered  in  Eastern  Iran  and  in  border 
provinces  in  India  which  prove  that  King 
Gondophares  was  a genuine  historical  per- 
sonage. 

Another  reference  is  given  us  by  Eusebius 
in  his  Church  History.  “About  the  year  180,” 
he  writes,  “ there  were  still  many  evangelists 
who  sought  to  imitate  the  godly  zeal  of  the 
apostles,  by  contributing  their  share  to  the 
extension  and  upbuilding  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  Among  these  was  Pantaenus,  who  is  re- 
puted to  have  reached  the  Indians,  among 
whom  he  is  stated  to  have  found  the  Gospel 
of  St.  Matthew,  which,  prior  to  his  arrival, 
was  in  the  possession  of  many  who  had  known 
Christ.”  It  is  true  that  in  those  days  the  term 
India  was  applied  with  geographical  vagueness 
to  the  general  section  of  the  world  in  and  about 
Southern  Arabia,  but  when  we  remember  that 
several  finds  of  hidden  treasure  in  Southern 
India  have  brought  to  light  coins  of  the  reigns 


140  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


I'larly 
Christian 
• .migrants 


Three 
Christian 
1 nscrip- 
li<»US 


of  Augustus,  Tiberius  and  Nero,  we  can  well 
believe  that  Christian  missionaries  went  as  far 
as  did  Roman  trade  and  commerce. 

Furthermore,  there  is  record  of  a certain 
“ John,  bishop  of  all  Persia  and  Greater  In- 
dia,” who  took  part  in  the  Council  of  Nicea  in 
325  A.  D. 

There  is  also  an  interesting  tradition  of  the 
Thomas  Christians  of  South  India,  which  re- 
lates that,  in  the  year  345  A.D.,  there  arrived  in 
Malabar,  under  the  leadership  of  a Jerusalem 
merchant,  a bishop  from  Edessa,  Thomas  by 
name,  who  was  accompanied  by  a considerable 
number  of  Christian  emigrants  from  Persia ; 
and  that  they  were  heartily  welcomed  by  the 
Christians  of  the  land.  Of  course,  there  is  no 
way  of  confirming  this  tradition,  but  history 
lends  credence  to  such  a tradition  of  a Christian 
emigration,  by  the  fact  that,  in  343  A.D.,  a 
severe  persecution  of  Christians  broke  out  in  the 
Persian  Empire  and  lasted  for  forty  years. 

Most  interesting  is  the  discovery,  at  three  dif- 
ferent places  in  India,  of  inscriptions  bearing 
Christian  symbols  or  quotations.  One  was 
found  in  1547  at  Milapur  on  the  great  hill  of 
St.  Thomas.  “ It  consists  of  a fairly  large 
stone  on  which  is  carved  in  relief  a cross  of  an 
antique  shape.  Hovering  above  it  is  the  form 
of  the  dove,  the  outlines  of  which  are  somewhat 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS 


141 


crudely  chiselled ; round  the  cross  there  runs  an 
inscription  which  for  centuries  was  a puzzle  to 
scholars.  It  was  at  last  recognized  by  an 
English  Indologist,  Dr.  Burnell,  as  Pehlavi 
of  the  sixth  or  seventh  century,  and  deci- 
phered.* Dr.  Burnell’s  translation  is  as  fol- 
lows : “ In  punishment  by  the  cross  was  the 

suffering  of  this  one  who  is  the  true  Christ  God 
above  and  Guide  ever  pure.” 

These  references  give  a very  faint  picture 
of  missionary  effort  during  the  early  centuries, 
but  there  is  enough  to  rebuke  the  missionary 
apathy  of  later  centuries,  and  even  to  inspire 
the  zeal  of  the  modern  Church  in  this  mission- 
ary age. 

bomb’s  pioneees 

Four  centuries  of  absolute  silence  now  inter- 
vene in  the  narrative  of  Christian  influence  in 
India,  until  Marco  Polo,  the  famous  traveler, 
brings  in  the  report,  “ In  the  kingdom  of 
Quilon  (Travancore)  dwell  many  Christians 
and  Jews  who  still  retain  their  own  language.” 

This  was  the  age  of  the  great  missionary 
Orders  of  the  Middle  Ages,  such  as  the  Fran- 
ciscans and  the  Dominicans.  Through  them, 
missionary  work  was  carried  on  in  behalf  of 


Francis- 
cans and 
Domin- 
icans 


* Julius  Richter,  “History  of  Indian  Missions.”  p.  32. 


142  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Francis 

Xavier 


the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  their  efforts 
extended  even  to  India.  The  Dominican  mis- 
sionary, Jordan,  reported  that  he  found  the 
Nestorian  Christians  of  India  so  ignorant,  that 
they  confused  Christ  with  the  Apostle  Thomas. 
His  efforts  seem  to  have  been  directed  largely 
to  bringing  these  Indian  Christians  into  the 
Roman  fold.  He  reports  that  he  and  his  com- 
panions succeeded  in  winning  over  “to  the 
faith  ten  thousand  schismatics  (meaning  In- 
dian Christians)  and  unbelievers,  and  that,  so 
far  as  his  experience  went,  he  had  found  them 
ten  times  better  and  more  loving  than  Euro- 
pean Christians.” 

A century  and  a half  elapse,  after  the  mis- 
sionary efforts  just  described,  before  the  his- 
torical narrative  can  be  pursued,  and  then  there 
appears  that  conspicuous  Roman  Catholic 
nobleman  and  missionary,  Francis  Xavier,  who 
was  born  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Loyola, 
the  founder  of  the  Jesuit  Order.  He  was  of 
noble  family,  a thorough  scholar,  a man  of  un- 
questioned piety,  devoted  to  his  work,  a re- 
markable character,  who  feared  neither  hard- 
ship nor  hard  work  and  displayed  great  self- 
denial  and  even  self-mortification  in  accom- 
plishing his  mission.  In  May,  1542,  he  landed 
at  Goa  on  the  southwest  coast  of  India.  His 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS 


143 


missionary  career  was  indeed  both  a short  and 
an  unusual  one.  It  was  short,  for,  all  told, 
including  both  his  first  term  of  service  and  his 
later  visits,  he  spent  but  four  and  a half  years 
in  India.  It  was  unusual,  in  the  striking  meth- 
ods which  he  followed.  Xavier  never  mastered 
the  native  language.  He  labored  through  in- 
terpreters. His  aims  were  colored  by  the  eccle- 
siastical views  of  his  age  and  Church,  and 
were  wholly  formal  and  external.  “ You  can 
imagine,”  he  wrote,  “ the  life  I lead  here,  and 
what  my  sermons  are  like,  when  neither  the 
people  can  understand  the  interpreter,  nor  the 
interpreter  the  preacher,  to  wit,  myself.  I 
ought  to  be  a past  master  in  the  language  of 
dumb  show.  Nevertheless,  I am  not  altogether 
idle,  for  I need  no  translator’s  help  in  the 
baptism  of  newly  horn  children.” 

His  greatest  successes  were  among  the  Par- 
avas,  who  were  fishermen  of  the  southernmost 
point  of  India.  They  were  being  cruelly  har- 
assed by  Moslem  pirates  and  appealed  to  the 
Portuguese  for  help.  Xavier  secured  assist- 
ance for  them  more  than  once,  and  they,  in 
turn,  received  baptism  at  his  hands.  In  this 
mass  movement  of  early  missions,  which 
brought  some  40,000  into  nominal  allegiance 
to  Christianity,  Xavier  threw  himself  heartily. 
“ He  went  from  village  to  village,”  says  his 


144  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


biographer,  “ calling  crowds  of  men  and  boys 
together  in  a fitting  place  for  instruction,  by 
means  of  a hand  bell.  Within  a month  the 
boys  had  almost  learned  by  heart  what  he  had 
recited  to  them,  and  they  were  then  enjoined 
to  teach  it  to  their  parents,  comrades  and  neigh- 
bors.” Whole  villages  were  baptized  in  a single 
day. 

So  external  and  formal  were  Xavier’s  mis- 
sionary aims  and  methods  that,  when  he  left 
India,  we  find  him  advocating  a policy  whereby 
missionary  work  should  be  carried  on  entirely 
by  the  government  officials  of  the  colonies. 

A half  a century  after  Xavier,  another  char- 
acter became  conspicuous  in  Roman  Catholic 
Missions  in  India,  Robert  de  Nobili.  His 
methods  were  so  unique  and  they  influenced 
his  Order  (for  he  was  a Jesuit)  so  profoundly 
for  a century  and  a half,  that  they  deserve 
some  description.  He  endeavored  to  secure 
success  in  two  directions  in  which  Xavier  had 
made  no  effort.  Xavier  had  labored  only  where 
Portuguese  colonies  enabled  him  to  avail  him- 
self of  political  influence,  and,  furthermore, 
he  had  succeeded  only  among  the  low  caste 
people.  Nobili  was  more  ambitious.  He  re- 
solved to  forge  weapons  which  would  call  for 
no  political  reenforcement,  and  which  would 
win  the  higher  classes  of  India.  He  argued 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS 


145 


that  a new  religion,  to  come  properly  recom- 
mended to  the  people  of  India,  and  especially 
to  those  of  the  higher  castes,  would  need  to 
come  to  them  presented  by  one  belonging  to  the 
class  or  order  recognized  by  the  people  as  lead- 
ing in  religious  matters.  He,  therefore,  re- 
solved to  become  a Brahman.  Withdrawing 
from  his  brethren,  he  entered  upon  a life  which, 
to  the  last  detail  of  personal  conduct  and  attire 
and  to  the  least  requirement  of  home  environ- 
ment, measured  up  to  the  Indian  laws  of  the 
life  of  a Brahman.  He  claimed  to  be  a rajah 
from  the  West,  a guru  or  teacher  of  religion. 

He  claimed  to  be  the  discoverer  of  a fourth  vedaarloa9 
Veda  which  had  been  lost.  To  perpetrate  these 
fraudulent  claims  was  no  easy  task.  It  re- 
quired self-denials  and  self-mortification ; he 
had  to  become  a vegetarian.  A thing  far  more 
difficult,  it  required  the  mastery  of  the  lan- 
guages of  South  India,  Tamil  and  Telugu,  and, 
what  was  still  more  difficult  yet,  such  a mastery 
of  the  Sanskrit  as  would  enable  him  to  read 
the  existing  Vedas  and  write  his  own  fourth 
Veda.  In  his  presentation  of  Christianity  he 
sanctioned  the  caste  distinctions.  The  Chris- 
tian Brahman  might  still  wear  the  “ sacred 
thread,”  and  keep  the  caste  mark  upon  his 
forehead,  and  refuse  all  intercourse  with  a low; 
caste  Christian. 

10 


146  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


For  fifty  years,  Nobili  labored  in  India. 
Other  missions  were  projected  along  the  lines 
he  had  drawn.  A divided  Church  resulted. 
On  the  one  hand,  were  Brahman  Christians; 
on  the  other,  Pariah  Christians.  The  latter 
far  outnumbered  the  former.  At  Nobili’s 
death,  the  missions  he  had  founded  claimed 

100.000  converts.  As  for  Nobili’s  fourth  Veda, 
“ in  India  as  in  Europe  this  subtle  forgery  was 
for  a century  and  a half  regarded  as  genuine, 
though  the  reason  was  that  neither  in  the  East 
nor  in  the  West  had  any  one  skilled  knowledge 
of  the  real  Vedas,  or  a sufficiently  developed 
historical  appreciation  of  them.  Protestant 
missionaries  in  Madras  exposed  the  fraud 
about  the  year  1840.” 

Of  the  still  later  operations  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries,  there  is  no  opportunity 
here  to  give  a full  account.  Most  conspicuous 
in  these  efforts  was  the  steady  policy  of  intrigue, 
persuasion,  and  even  coercion,  by  which  the 
Thomas  Christians,  or  early  Indian  Christians, 
of  Malabar,  were  brought  under  the  complete 
or  partial  jurisdiction  of  Rome;  100,000  be- 
coming wholly  Romanized;  90,000  still  retain- 
ing their  Syrian  language  in  the  church  ser- 
vice, but  recognizing  the  authority  of  the  Pope ; 

50.000  only  remaining  independent. 

Roman  Catholic  missionary  work  has  left 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS  147 


its  impress  therefore  upon  India.  Perhaps  it  Bo^nte  of 
is  in  the  Province  of  Goa  that  this  impress  is  Missions 
clearest.  In  the  Basle  Missionary  Magazine 
the  following  description  is  given : “The  Ro- 
man Catholic  character  of  the  country  comes 
upon  one  with  most  surprising  effect  in  the 
midst  of  these  heathen  districts.  On  every  sta- 
tion platform  one  sees  dark-robed  monks  and 
priests.  On  every  hillside  there  is  a chapel, 
and  scattered  up  and  down  the  fields  and  lanes 
are  crucifixes  and  images  of  the  Virgin.  In  the 
larger  towns  and  cities  stately  churches  rear 
their  spires  heavenward.  Everywhere  one  en- 
counters people  wearing  rosaries  and  cruci- 
fixes on  their  breasts.”* 

If  no  other  lesson  is  derived  from  this  por- 
tion of  missionary  history,  at  least  ought  the 
Protestant  Church  to  find  in  the  story  of  Rome’s 
pioneers  in  India  a rebuke  to  her  own  mission- 
ary sluggishness,  and  an  incentive  to  equally 
devoted  and  self-denying  effort,  although  with 
purer  and  higher  spiritual  aims. 

DANISH  MISSIONS 

Let  us  imagine  ourselves  in  South  India  in 
the  year  1706.  In  Central  India,  along  both 

* Quoted  in  Julius  Richter’s  “ History  of  Indian  Missions,”  p.  57. 


148  EAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Frederick 

IV. 


western  and  eastern  coasts,  there  is  war  and 
turmoil.  The  conflict  of  British  and  Erench 
for  supremacy  in  India  is  waging.  The  battle 
of  Plassey,  which  determined  that  conflict  in 
favor  of  Great  Britain,  is  still  fifty  years  in  the 
future.  We  note  what  is  characteristic  of 
this  age,  that  the  struggle  for  colonial  develop- 
ment has  in  view  commercial  ends.  The  inter- 
ests of  Great  Britain  are  promoted  by  the  East 
India  Company,  whose  charter,  given  December 
31,  1600,  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  reads:  “ To  one 
Body  Corporate  and  Politik,  in  Deed  and  in 
Name,  by  the  name  of  the  Governor  and  Com- 
pany of  Merchants  trading  into  the  East 
Indies.” 

Here  in  South  India,  however,  there  is  com- 
parative quiet,  and  Danish  colonies  are  being 
established  by  a similar  trading  company, 
whose  charter  was  given  by  the  King  of  Den- 
mark. This  Danish  East  India  Company  is 
only  sixteen  years  younger  than  that  of  Great 
Britain,  and  it  has  already  developed  com- 
mercial openings  in  South  India  which  it  is 
exploiting  exclusively  for  its  own  selfish  in- 
terests. 

However,  on  the  throne  of  Denmark  is  Fred- 
erick IV.,  who  is  religiously  inclined.  An  am- 
bition has  been  growing  upon  him  to  give  the 
Gospel  to  the  heathen  in  these  foreign  colonies. 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS  149 


Accordingly,  he  applies  to  his  court  preacher 
for  men  whom  he  may  send  as  missionaries  to 
realize  his  ambition.  No  men  are  found  in 
Denmark,  but  two  men  are  discovered  in  Ger- 
many who  will  undertake  this  mission,  Ziegen- 
balg  and  Plutschau.  These  two  men  Frederick 
IV.  commissioned  as  “ royal  Danish  mis- 
sionaries.” On  July  9,  1706,  they  arrive  at 
Tranquebar.  It  is  the  birthday  of  Protestant 
missions  in  India. 

But  alas,  little  did  the  noble  sovereign  who 
commissioned  them  or  the  devoted  missionaries 
who  received  the  commission,  realize  what  hard- 
ships and  sufferings  were  to  attend  their  mis- 
sionary undertaking.  Neither  was  it  hardship 
arising  from  life  in  a foreign  land,  nor  yet  was 
it  suffering  that  would  result  from  heathen  op- 
position or  persecution,  that  was  to  wring  their 
souls;  it  was  none  other  than  the  opposition, 
the  continued  persecution,  the  shameful  treat- 
ment of  those  who  were  Westerns  like  them- 
selves, and  nominally  Christians. 

The  Danish  East  India  Company  looked 
upon  the  king’s  enterprise  most  unfavorably, 
but,  not  being  able  to  prevent  it  from  being 
launched,  the  officials  of  the  Company  decided 
to  put  every  possible  hindrance  in  the  way  of 
the  missionaries.  On  arriving  at  Tranquebar, 
Ziegenbalg  and  Plutschau  found  difficulty  in 


Ziegenbalg 

and 

Plutschau 


150  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


landing.  Several  days  elapsed  before  they 
could  get  any  one  to  take  them  ashore.  Land- 
ing at  ten  in  the  morning  they  were  forced  to 
wait  outside  the  town  until  seven  in  the  even- 
ing. The  governor  questioned  their  commission. 
The  colony’s  chaplains  gave  them  a cold  re- 
ception. With  difficulty  they  secured  a lodging 
place.  As  they  began  their  work,  they  were 
harassed  by  petty  persecution.  They  were 
openly  insulted,  the  governor  on  one  occasion 
striking  Ziegenbalg  and  calling  them  “ dogs.” 
A New  Year’s  sermon  which  referred  to  the 
omissions  of  Christian  governments,  was  made 
the  ground  for  an  accusation  of  inciting  to  re- 
bellion. On  a wholly  unjust  and  petty  charge, 
Ziegenbalg  was  “ sentenced  to  four  months’  im- 
prisonment, being  confined  in  a tiny  room  near 
the  kitchen,  in  which  he  was  well-nigh  suffo- 
cated, and  kept  under  the  most  rigid  surveil- 
lance. No  one  was  allowed  to  visit  him,  and  he 
was  even  denied  pen  and  ink.”  Their  move- 
ments in  travel  were  hampered.  Hindrances 
were  placed  in  the  way  of  their  returning  to 
Denmark  to  seek  redress.  The  full  story  of 
their  sufferings  leads  one  to  wonder  why  Prov- 
idence should  permit  so  much  of  noble  purpose 
and  useful  life  to  expend  itself  in  a seemingly 
vain  conflict  with  the  coarse  persecutions  of  such 
brutal  characters  as  was  the  governor  of  this 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS 


151 


Danish  colony.  Yet,  does  not  the  life  of  the  Son 
of  God  upon  earth,  with  His  divinely  sensitive 
soul  facing  the  coarse  jeers  of  Pharisees,  present 
the  same  mystery  of  suffering?  Back  of  these 
seemingly  unworthy  and  trivial  sufferings, 
spiritual  conflict  was  being  waged.  Sin,  the 
sin  of  commercial  greed  and  commercial  selfish- 
ness, stood  condemned  by  the  life  and  work  of 
these  two  missionaries  of  the  Cross,  and  greed 
and  selfishness  wished  to  crucify  them.  Per- 
secution reduced  Ziegenbalg  to  sickness,  and 
Plutschau  returned  to  Germany. 

Ziegenbalg  labored  on.  He  translated  the 
New  Testament  and  the  most  of  the  Old  into 
the  Tamil  language.  He  preached  to  the  na- 
tives and  held  many  private  conferences.  He 
founded  a school  for  both  Portuguese  and  na- 
tive children.  At  last,  a small  congregation 
was  gathered  together.  To  the  end  of  his  life, 
however,  Ziegenbalg  endured  hardship,  and  the 
final  trial  of  his  faith  came  in  the  form  of  a 
visionary  and  revolutionary  missionary  policy 
which  a man  Wendt,  for  a short  time  in  charge 
of  the  home  office  of  the  Mission,  attempted 
to  enforce.  These  trials  proved  too  great  for 
his  really  delicate  constitution,  and,  in  1719, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-six,  Ziegenbalg  passed  to  his 
reward.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  there  had 
been  428  baptisms  in  connection  with  his  work. 


Trial  and 
Success 


152  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Schwartz 


We  set  over  against  this  record  that  word  of 
Abbot  Breighaupt,  which  had  so  impressed 
Ziegenbalg  as  a student  at  Halle  that  he  at  last 
surrendered  himself  to  foreign  missionary  ser- 
vice : “ If  anyone  leads  a single  soul  belonging 
to  the  heathen  people  to  God,  it  is  as  great  a 
deed  as  though  he  were  to  win  a hundred  souls 
in  Europe,  since  the  latter  daily  enjoy  sufficient 
opportunities  of  being  converted.”  We  may 
well  believe  that  his  early  work  will  be  found 
built  into  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  India. 

If  Ziegenbalg  was  the  most  conspicuous  char- 
acter in  the  Danish  missions  of  the  first  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  Schwartz  was  easily 
the  most  famous  of  those  who  labored  during 
the  last  half  of  that  century.  And  yet  Schwartz 
could  not  be  called  a brilliantly  gifted  man. 
Two  things  he  did  have,  however ; a tremendous 
capacity  for  work,  and  an  unmistakable  purity 
of  motive.  Reaching  India  in  1750,  he  labored 
quietly  for  ten  years  without  attracting  any 
special  attention.  Then,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  increasing  momentum  of  the  great  work  he 
was  carrying  on,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  certain 
public  services  which  he  was  able  to  render 
the  government,  began  to  lift  him  to  a place 
of  prominence.  Of  public  services,  many 
might  be  mentioned.  He  was  dispatched  by 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS 


153 


the  British  on  several  political  embassies  to 
native  rulers,  not  more  because  of  the  advan- 
tage possessed  by  him  in  his  knowledge  of  the 
language  than  because  of  the  undeniable  in- 
fluence which  he  had  upon  all  because  of  his 
unimpeachable  character.  For  two  years, 
Schwartz  was  “ Resident,”  chief  representative 
of  the  British,  in  one  of  the  leading  states  of 
South  India.  But  whether  on  a political  em- 
bassy or  under  appointment  as  “ Resident,” 
Schwartz  never  gave  up  active  missionary  work, 
preaching  when  on  the  march,  or  organizing 
schools  when  located  for  any  extended  period. 
His  official  position  and  influence  enabled  him 
to  render  many  a service  to  the  needy  Chris- 
tian community.  Ilis  personal  needs  were  few, 
and  the  large  salaries  paid  him  by  the  govern- 
ment for  services  rendered  by  him  resulted  in 
his  accumulating  a considerable  amount,  be- 
tween $45,000  and  $50,000.  The  entire 
amount  was  bequeathed  by  him  to  the  native 
Church.  The  East  India  Company  erected 
a marble  monument  to  Schwartz  in  Madras, 
and  Serfoji,  the  heir  to  the  throne  of  a native 
state — to  whom  Schwartz  had  rendered  no  less 
a service  than  that  of  safeguarding  his  throne, 
— set  up  in  the  garrison  church  at  Tanjore 
this  grateful  and  touching  inscription : 


Tribute  of 

Native 

Prince 


William 

Carey- 


154  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 

“ Firm  wast  thou,  humble  and  wise, 
Honest,  pure,  free  from  all  disguise, 
Father  of  orphans,  the  widow’s  support, 
Comfort  in  sorrow  of  every  sort. 

To  the  benighted,  dispenser  of  light, 

Doing  and  pointing  to  that  which  is  right ; 
Blessing  to  princes,  to  people,  to  me  ; 

May  I,  my  father,  be  worthy  of  thee  ! 
Wisheth  and  prayeth  thy  Saraboji  1” 


Of  course,  other  men’s  labors  also  entered 
into  the  successful  record  of  Danish  missions. 
Between  1706  and  1846,  fifty-seven  Danish 
missionaries  went  out  to  India,  of  whom  thirty- 
two  laid  down  their  lives  in  that  land.  Was 
it  too  great  a price  to  pay  when  some  37,000 
converts  are  known  to  have  been  baptized  even 
prior  to  1806,  the  Mission’s  Centennial  ? 


THE  AGE  OF  CAREY 

On  November  11,  1793,  William  Carey 
landed  in  Calcutta.  This  marks  the  beginning 
of  English  Protestant  missions  in  India,  and  is 
the  date  from  which  the  entire  modern  mission- 
ary movement  is  commonly  dated. 

What  the  Danish  East  India  Company  was 
to  Ziegenbalg  in  Southern  India,  the  British 
East  India  Company  was  to  Carey  fartiher 
north.  The  policy  of  this  trading  organization 


A SUEVEY  OF  MISSIONS  155 


was  to  exploit  India  wholly  for  its  own  ad- 
vantage, and  practically  no  regard  was  had  for 
the  welfare  of  the  people,  save  in  so  far  as  a 
Christian  public  opinion  in  England  wrung 
from  them  concessions  by  threatening  the  char- 
ter of  the  Company.  The  officials  of  the  Com- 
pany in  India  limited  their  allegiance  to  Chris- 
tianity to  attendance  upon  divine  worship  once 
or  twice  a year,  while  even  the  highest  officials 
did  not  hesitate  to  live  in  open  sin.  Missionary 
work  was  naturally  opposed,  both  because  of 
the  condemnation  which  it  brought  upon  the 
immoral  lives  of  the  officials,  and  because  it 
was  argued  “ that  there  could  he  no  more  dan- 
gerous means  of  estranging  the  hearts  of  the 
people  from  the  Government,  and  no  surer  way 
of  endangering  the  stability  of  the  English 
rule,  than  by  attempting  to  meddle  with  the 
religious  concerns  of  the  Hindus.” 

The  opposition  of  the  Company  proved  to  be 
a sad  and  real  trial.  Carey’s  supplies  soon  be- 
came exhausted.  Efforts  which  he  made  to  se- 
cure work  in  Calcutta  proved  unavailing.  A 
position  as  overseer  in  an  isolated  indigo  plan- 
tation was  the  only  opening  he  had,  and  even 
this  was  secured  to  him  alone  through  the  kind 
offices  of  an  official  who  gave  security  for 
Carey’s  good  behavior.  The  privations  which 
Carey  had  to  endure  are  said  to  have  robbed 


Opposition 
of  East 
India  Com- 
pany 


156  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Serampore 

Trio 


him  of  his  child  and  his  wife  of  her  reason. 
So  great  are  the  sacrifices  which  some  pioneers 
of  missions  have  had  to  make  in  the  service  of 
Christ!  We  may  well  believe  that  such  ex- 
periences gave  new  preciousness  to  the  word 
of  Christ : “ There  is  no  man  that  hath  left 
house,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  mother,  or 
father,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  my  sake  and 
for  the  gospel’s  sake,  but  he  shall  receive  a hun- 
dredfold now  in  this  time,  houses,  and  brethren, 
and  sisters,  and  mothers,  and  children,  and 
lands,  with  persecutions;  and  in  the  world  to 
come  eternal  life.” 

Six  years  after  Carey’s  landing  in  India, 
there  arrived  two  missionaries  whose  names 
were  to  be  associated  with  his,  constituting  the 
Serampore  trio.  They  were  John  Marshman 
and  W.  Ward.  So  great  had  been  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  British  East  India  Company  to 
missionary  work,  that  these  two  missionaries 
went  to  Serampore,  a Danish  settlement,  and 
placed  themselves  under  the  protection  of  that 
Government.  Carey,  too,  realizing  the  freedom 
which  they  enjoyed,  decided  to  leave  his  former 
work  and  join  them  at  Serampore.  Thus  are 
brought  together  the  three  men  who  left  such 
an  abiding  impress  upon  Christian  missions  in 
India:  Carey,  the  cobbler,  Ward,  a printer, 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS  157 


Marshman,  a ragged-school  teacher.  God  had 
use  for  the  gifts  of  each  of  the  three,  and  their 
gifts  supplemented  each  other  in  a wonderful 
way. 

Carey  displayed  the  most  wonderful  lin- 
guistic gifts.  “ In  1801,  Carey’s  translation  of  £ft^er^ 
the  New  Testament  into  Bengali  was  issued,  work 
The  eminent  scholarship  which  it  disclosed  led 
to  his  call  to  the  chair  of  Bengali,  in  the  govern- 
ment college  at  Fort  William,  Calcutta.  His 
first  position  was  that  of  teacher  of  Bengali, 
afterward  of  Sanskrit  and  of  Marathi,  with  a 
salary  of  $3,000  a year.  It  was  not  long  before 
he  became  professor  of  these  three  languages, 
and  his  emoluments  rose  to  $7,500  a year ; but 
the  whole  of  his  income,  excepting  about  $200 
annually  needed  for  the  support  of  his  family, 
was  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  mission. 

This  position  he  held  with  highest  success  and 
honor  until  1830,  within  four  years  of  his 
death. 

“Either  under  his  superintendence  or  by  him- 
self, translations  of  the  Scriptures  were  made 
in  thirty-five  languages  or  dialects.  Of  these, 
six  were  of  the  whole  Bible;  twenty-two  of  the 
New  Testament,  five  including  also  a consider- 
able part  of  the  Old  Testament;  and  seven  of 
portions  of  the  New  Testament.  A great 


158  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Ward 


Marshman 


multitude  of  tracts  were  issued,  as  well  as  books 
for  schools  and  colleges.”  * 

The  literary  activity  of  Carey  created  a 
need  for  printing  facilities,  for  it  was  expen- 
sive, laborious,  and  involved  many  delays,  to 
send  manuscripts  to  England  for  printing.  At 
this  point  the  gifts  of  Ward,  the  printer,  came 
into  service.  Through  great  industry,  Ward 
“ made  himself  master  of  his  subject  and  built 
a magnificent  printing  house,  fitted  up  with  its 
own  paper-mill  and  type  foundry,  in  Seram- 
pore.  For  many  of  the  tongues  of  India  and 
Eastern  Asia,  type  was  here  first  cast,  and  the 
earliest  printed  matter  in  such  language  first 
brought  out.  Brilliant  scholars,  like  Colebrooke 
the  Orientalist  and  Roxburgh  the  botanist,  sent 
their  works  here  to  be  printed.”  f 

As  for  Marshman,  a wide  field  of  service  was 
also  found.  There  was  a great  lack  of  edu- 
cational facilities  both  for  Anglo-Indian  chil- 
dren and  for  native  children.  At  Serampore, 
Marshman,  the  former  ragged-school  teacher, 
established  a school  which  enjoyed  the  highest 
reputation  and  the  most  influential  patronage 
during  his  entire  lifetime. 

In  1812,  Judson  and  Newell,  America’s 


*James  M.  Thoburn,  “The  Christian  Conquest  of  India.”  p.  142. 
f Julius  Richter,  “ History  of  Indian  Missions.  ” p.  137. 


A SUEVEY  OF  MISSIONS  159 


first  missionaries  to  India,  reached  Calcutta. 
The  continued  opposition  of  the  British  East 
India  Company  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that, 
when  a few  weeks  later  they  were  joined  by 
six  other  missionaries,  three  Englishmen  and 
three  Americans,  all  five  Americans  were  ex- 
pelled. Thus  it  came  about  that  Judson  fled  to 
Burma  and  became  the  pioneer  of  Christian 
missions  in  that  country. 

A day  of  at  least  partial  reckoning,  however, 
was  fast  approaching  for  this  unchristian  and 
anti-missionary  East  India  Company.  Its 
charter  required  to  be  renewed  every  twenty 
years,  and  the  date  for  its  next  renewal  was 
1813.  Public  sentiment  in  England  was  be- 
coming outraged  by  the  Company’s  unjust  treat- 
ment of  missionaries.  Although  it  cost  a hitter 
fight  and  much  public  agitation,  the  new  char- 
ter of  the  Company  secured  for  missionaries 
rights  of  residence  and  missionary  activity  in 
India,  by  the  following  terms : 

“ Eesolved,  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
Committee  that  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Country 
to  promote  the  interests  and  happiness  of  the 
native  inhabitants  of  the  British  dominions  in 
India,  and  that  measures  ought  to  he  adopted 
as  may  tend  to  the  introduction  among  them  of 
useful  knowledge  and  moral  improvement. 
That  in  furtherance  of  the  above  objects  suf- 


Change  of 
Company’s 
Charter 


160  FAB  NORTH  IB  INDIA 


ficient  facilities  shall  be  afforded  by  law  to 
persons  desirous  of  going  to,  or  remaining  in, 
India  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  those 
benevolent  designs.”  The  privileges  secured 
by  this  resolution,  however,  were  not  extended 
to  non-British  missionaries  for  twenty  years, 
and  the  Company,  while  compelled  to  permit 
the  entrance  of  British  missionaries,  did  not 
change  its  own  policy  either  of  neutrality  or 
of  favoring  the  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  re- 
ligions. 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  privileges 
guaranteed  by  the  Company’s  new  charter 
would  give  an  impetus  to  missionary  work  and 
to  the  sending  out  of  missionaries.  Such 
proved  to  be  the  case.  The  work  of  the  Ser- 
ampore  trio  was  rapidly  extended.  The  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society,  which  represented 
missionary  interests  in  England  not  connected 
with  the  Church  of  England,  opened  in  rapid 
succession  new  mission  stations,  until  it  found 
itself  represented  in  seven  great  language  areas 
in  India. 

Another  prominent  missionary  society,  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  which  represents 
the  low-Church  or  evangelical  party  of  the 
Church  of  England,  took  up  work  with  aggres- 
siveness. Special  interest  may  attach  to  their 
work  because  this  Society  is  nearest  neighbor  to- 


Wii.uam  Carf.y  Ai.f.xander  Duke 


A SUEVEY  OF  MISSIONS 


161 


day,  on  the  southeast,  to  the  United  Presby- 
terian Mission  in  the  Punjab. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  missionary  successes 
during  this  period,  were  achieved  in  South  In- 
dia. Here  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
found  a spiritual  harvest  awaiting  ingathering, 
and  over  eleven  thousand  of  the  Shanan  caste 
were  speedily  brought  into  the  Church.  In  an 
adjoining  district,  the  high  church  representa- 
tives of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  claimed  4,000  converts ; while,  hard  by, 
the  London  Missionary  Society  gathered  some 
11,000  converts.  God’s  providence  had  opened 
the  way  for  missionary  work  in  the  Charter 
victory,  and  now  God’s  Spirit  was  blessing 
richly  the  missionary  agencies  which  He  Him- 
self had  projected. 

ALEXANDER  DUFF, 

The  young  man,  who  in  1830,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-four,  landed  at  Calcutta,  proved  to 
be  a personality  of  such  power  and  gifts  that 
we  can  characterize  almost  an  entire  period  of 
our  missionary  survey  by  referring  to  his  life 
and  work.  This  man  was  Alexander  Duff. 

Duff’s  influence  may  be  noted  chiefly  in  three 
directions:  (a)  In  his  development  of  a new 
missionary  method ; (b)  in  his  influencing 

11 


Success  in 
South  India 


Alexander 

Duff 


162  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


the  Indian  government’s  educational  policy ; 
and  (c)  in  arousing  the  Church  to  her  mission- 
ary duty  by  his  eloquent  messages, 
speaking  First,  Duff  developed  a new  missionary 

method,  that  of  the  English-speaking  school. 
Duff  was  horn  of  Gaelic  ancestry.  He  argued 
that  as  his  own  Scottish  race  was  enabled  to 
enter,  easily  and  at  once,  into  the  full  enjoyment 
of  all  the  findings  of  science  and  civilization  by 
a knowledge  of  the  English  language,  so,  too,  on 
an  immeasurably  wider  scale,  would  it  be  pos- 
sible to  bring  the  Indian  people  into  immediate 
and  easy  possession  of  all  the  knowledge  of  the 
West,  by  teaching  them  the  English  language 
instead  of  attempting  to  translate  into  the  varied 
languages  of  India  the  great  mass  of  Western 
literature.  On  July  13,  1830,  Duff  opened 
his  school.  He  had,  as  Dr.  Richter  has  pointed 
out,  three  aims  in  view.  First,  he  hoped  to 
gain  an  entrance  among  the  higher  classes.  He 
found  on  arriving  in  India  that  there  was  prac- 
tically no  point  of  contact  between  Christian 
missionary  work  and  the  higher  classes.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  found  that,  through  non- 
Christian  influences  in  higher  official  circles 
and  elsewhere,  the  only  contact  that  the  ed- 
ucated Indian  classes  were  having  with  Western 
thought  was  through  deistic  and  atheistic 
writers  of  England.  The  influences  of  Western 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS  163 


civilization  were  bound  to  affect  India,  and  to 
counteract  evil  influences  it  would  be  best  to 
guide  the  movement  so  that  Christian  literature 
and  Christian  thought  might  have  the  first  en- 
trance into  Indian  life,  and  thus  effect  a prior 
l claim.  Secondly,  Duff  believed  that  scientific 
i knowledge  and  Christian  ideas,  if  widely  pro- 
mulgated and  taught,  would  prepare  the  way  for 
a general  acceptance  of  the  Gospel,  that  they 
would  break  up  traditional  superstitions  and 
false  systems  and  turn  public  thought  to  the 
discussion  of  the  religion  of  Western  civiliz- 
ation. Thirdly,  Duff  looked  forward  to  im- 
proving every  contact  with  his  students,  in- 
fluencing them  by  a personal  presentation  of 
Christian  doctrine  and  winning  them  event- 
ually to  a personal  acceptance  of  Christ  as  their 
Saviour. 

Once  opened,  Duff’s  school  proved  popular  Religion* 
beyond  all  his  expectations.  Yet  he  placed 
Christian  instruction  boldly  to  the  front,  and 
gave  the  Bible  a prominent  place  in  his  curric- 
ulum. It  was  not  long  before  the  frank  dis- 
cussion of  Christian  themes  by  those  in  at- 
tendance, created  great  alarm  among  their 
parents  and  relatives.  The  fear  became  a 
panic,  and  Duff’s  school  of  three  hundred  pupils 
was  reduced  to  six.  However,  within  a week 
the  school  was  again  full  to  overflowing. 


164  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Influence 
on  Govern- 
ment Policy 


Was  the  aim  of  Duff,  which  was  mentioned 
third,  realized  to  any  extent?  Did  he  succeed 
in  winning  to  Christ  young  men  of  the  highest 
classes  of  Hindu  society?  “Such  cases  did  not 
abound,”  says  Richter.  “ Duff’s  biographer, 
taking  converted  families  as  his  unit,  only  men- 
tions twenty-six  of  them.  But  what  remark- 
able personalities,  what  pillars  in  the  Indian 
Church,  are  included  in  that  small  number. 
Krishna  Mohan  Benerjia,  Gopinath  Nundy, 
Mohesh  Chunder  Ghose,  Anando  Chunder  Moz- 
umdar,  and  Lai  Behari  Day,  are  glittering  stars 
in  the  firmament  of  the  Indian  Christian 
World.  It  was  something  wholly  new  for 
North  India  no  longer  to  see  orphan  children 
picked  up  anywhere,  outcasts,  beggars  and  crip- 
ples becoming  members  of  the  Christian 
Church,  but  in  their  stead  scions  of  the  noblest 
houses.” 

The  influence  of  Duff  upon  the  Indian  Gov- 
ernment’s educational  policy  was  named  as  the 
second  great  influence  emanating  from  his 
life  and  work  in  India.  The  success  which 
Duff  had  with  his  school  in  Calcutta  sug- 
gested to  Lord  Bentinck,  who  was  then  Gov- 
ernor-General, the  wisdom  of  letting  the  gov- 
ernment’s educational  policy  follow  similar 
lines,  leading  the  Indian  mind  to  Western 
science  and  learning  along  the  highway  of  the 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS 


165 


English  language.  This  is  too  large  a sub- 
ject to  be  discussed  here,  but  it  is  important 
to  recognize  where  the  government  policy  de- 
parts from  Duff’s  educational  ideal.  Both- 
use  English  as  the  vehicle  for  instruction, 
but  the  government  school  studiously  avoids 
all  religious  and  moral  training  of  a Christian 
character,  whereas  Duff  enthrones  Christian 
teaching  in  his  school.  Referring  to  this  dif- 
ference, Duff  eloquently  pleaded  for  a change 
of  policy: 

“ Highly  as  we  approve  of  Lord  Bentinck’s 
enactment  so  far  as  it  goes,  we  must,  in  justice 
to  our  own  views  and  to  the  highest  and  noblest 
cause  on  earth,  take  the  liberty  of  strongly  ex- 
pressing our  honest  conviction  that  it  does  not 
go  far  enough.  Truth  is  better  than  error  in 
any  department  of  knowledge,  the  humblest  as 
well  as  the  most  exalted.  . . . But  while  we 
rejoice  that  true  literature  and  science  is  to 
be  substituted  in  place  of  what  is  demon- 
strably false,  we  cannot  but  lament  that  no  pro- 
vision whatever  has  been  made  for  substitu- 
ting the  only  true  religion — Christianity — in 
place  of  the  false  religion  which  our  literature 
and  science  will  inevitably  demolish.” 

Of  the  third  influence  named  as  emanating 
from  Duff’s  missionary  career, — the  arousement 
of  the  Church  to  her  missionary  duty, — no  ade- 


DuflPs 
Plea  for 
Religious 
Education 


166  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Duffs 

Eloquent 

Pleading 


quate  appreciation  is  possible  unless  we  follow 
this  tireless  and  clear-visioned  apostle  on  his 
visit  to  England  between  1834  and  1839  and 
again  between  1850  and  1855,  and  take  account 
both  of  his  tour  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  and  of  his  many  written  and  printed 
appeals.  “ Probably  no  other  voice,”  says 
Bishop  Thoburn,  “ has  ever  promoted  the  cause 
of  missions  by  quickening  the  thought  and 
feeling  of  the  home  field  as  did  Dr.  Duff.”  We 
venture  to  present  a few  sentences,  from  his 
Exeter  Hall  Lecture,  of  appeal  in  behalf  of  mis- 
sions. After  surveying  eloquently  the  glorious 
military  achievements  of  Great  Britain,  he 
turns  suddenly  away  from  that  theme : 

“ But  England  has  had  other  battles,  and 
other  warriors,  and  other  exemplars,  nobler 
still,— nobler  still  in  the  eye  of  Heaven  and  the 
annals  of  eternity,  however  humble  and  un- 
worthy in  the  eye  of  carnal  sense  and  the 
records  of  short-lived  time.  And  it  is  to  these 
that  you  are  now  to  look,  when  invited  to  enter 
on  a nobler  warfare.  ...  In  this  highest 
and  noblest  department  of  human  warfare,  ye; 
may,  with  rapt  emotions,  point  to  another  ‘ im- 
perishable inheritance  of  national  glory.’  . . . 
Ye  may  point  to  Cranmer,  and  Ridley  and 
Latimer,  at  whose  stakes  were  lighted  a fire, 
which,  according  to  their  own  prophetic  utter- 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS  167 


ance,  by  God’s  grace,  ‘ will  never  be  put  out  in 
England.’  Ye  may  point  to  the  Miltons  and 
the  Bunyans,  the  sages  and  the  seers  of  the 
Commonwealth  and  Restoration.  Ye  may 
point  to  the  Howards  and  Wilberforces,  who 
irradiated  the  dungeon’s  gloom,  and  struck  his 
galling  fetters  from  the  crouching  slave.  Ye 
may  point  to  the  Martyns  and  the  Careys,  the 
Williams  and  the  Morrisons,  who,  spurning 
the  easier  task  of  guarding  the  citadel  at  home, 
jeoparded  their  lives  in  the  high  places  of  the 
field,  when  boldly  pushing  the  conquests  of  the 
cross  over  the  marshalled  hosts  of  heathendom. 

And,  when  ye  point  to  all  of  these  and  ten 
thousands  more,  tell  me  if  their  undying  achieve- 
ments do  not  burn  in  your  hearts  and  animate 
your  spirits,  and  incite  your  whole  soul  with 
inextinguishable  ardour,  to  deeds  of  similar 
daring  and  of  deathless  fame  ? ” 

While  so  much  space  has  been  given  to 
Alexander  Duff’s  life  and  work,  it  is  not  in- 
tended that  we  shall  lose  sight  of  the  more  than 
three  hundred  other  ordained  missionaries, 
whose  work,  if  less  conspicuous,  bulked  large  in 
the  development  of  the  missionary  movement 
during  this  period. 

It  was  in  1833  that  the  Company’s  charter  Missionary 
was  so  amended  as  to  extend  to  other  nations  Expan8ion 
the  rights  of  residence,  travel  and  missionary 


168  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Richter's 

Hammary 


activity,  which  had  been  secured  to  British  mis- 
sionaries in  1813.  This  resulted  in  the  estab- 
lishment, in  India,  of  both  German  and  Amer- 
ican missionary  societies. 

In  1840,  the  American  Baptists  entered  In- 
dia proper,  establishing  their  Telegu  Mission, 
which  for  thirty  years  was  so  unfruitful  that 
there  was  serious  thought  of  discontinuing  it. 
Later,  it  displayed  a success  whose  narrative 
reads  like  a veritable  romance. 

The  American  Congregationalists  who  had 
maintained  a single  mission  station  in  Bombay 
since  1813,  now  extended  their  work  rapidly 
in  South  India. 

Most  interesting,  however,  is  the  entrance  of 
the  American  Presbyterians  into  the  United 
Provinces  and  the  Punjab.  Their  first  station 
was  planted  in  Ludhiana  in  1834,  and  it  is 
this  same  mission  which  is  to-day  the  near 
neighbor,  directly  to  the  south,  of  the  American 
United  Presbyterian  Mission  at  Sialkot. 

To  survey  the  growth  of  Christian  missions 
in  India  Tip  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  we  cannot  do  better  than  present  a 
summary  which  appears  in  Dr.  Richter’s 
“ History  of  Indian  Missions.” 

“ In  the  year  1851  a census  was  for  the  first 
time  taken  of  all  the  Indian  societies,  which  it 
is  true  contained  a fair  number  of  omissions, 


Sialkot  City  Boys’  School 

This  High  School  reports  an  enrolment  of  over  six  hundred  hoys,  of  whom  sixty-four  per  cent,  are  Hindus  and 

twenty-seven  per  cent,  are  Mohammedans. 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS  169 


and  which  should  be  discreetly  handled  on  ac- 
count of  the  various  methods  of  computation 
employed  by  the  separate  societies,  but  which 
at  any  rate  provides  us  for  the  first  time  with 
a moderately  reliable  bird’s-eye  view  of  the 
actual  extent  of  mission  work  in  India  at  that 
time.  According  to  this  census,  Protestant  mis- 
sions contained  91,092  native  Christians  in 
267  congregations,  14,661  of  whom  were  com- 
municants; there  were  besides  33,037  commun- 
icants from  amongst  59,369  Christians  in  632 
churches  in  Burma,  and  in  Ceylon  11,859 
Christians  with  8182  communicants  in  186 
churches. 

“ Let  us  limit  our  remarks,  however,  to  India 
proper.  Of  the  91,092  Christians,  24,613  be- 
longed to  the  Church  Missionary  Society’s  Tin- 
nevelly  Mission,  10,315  to  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  the  same  region, 
and  16,427  to  the  London  Missionary  Society 
in  South  Travancore.  These  three  societies, 
which  worked  almost  entirely  in  the  same  caste- 
strata,  the  Shanar  or  Palmyra  peasants,  had 
therefore  51,355  converts,  that  is,  five-ninths  of 
the  sum  total  of  missionary  success  up  to  that 
time.  The  Madras  Presidency  as  a whole, 
which  included,  besides  the  three  missions  al- 
ready named,  the  congregations  gathered  by  the 
old  Danish  missions  in  the  Cauvery  districts, 


170  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


reported  74,176  Christians.  For  the  whole  of 
the  remaining  parts  of  India  there  remain  but 
16,916  Christians,  little  more  than  one-fifth 
of  the  numbers  for  Madras.  This  fifth  existed 
almost  entirely  in  Bengal,  which  had  14,177 
Christians. 

“ In  all  other  provinces  and  states  of  India 
nothing  but  modest  beginnings  of  missionary 
work  could  be  discovered.  It  was  a time  of 
laying  of  foundations.  Nineteen  larger  and  a 
few  smaller  societies,  having  amongst  them  a 
total  of  339  ordained  missionaries,  were  en- 
gaged in  the  great  task.  Far  and  away  the 
strongest  of  these  was  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  with  64  missionaries;  then  came  the 
London  Missionary  Society  with  49,  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  with  35,  the 
Baptists  with  30,  the  Basle  Missionary  So- 
ciety with  23,  and  the  American  Board  with  22 
missionaries.  These  six  leading  societies  had 
in  all  223  missionaries,  that  is  two-thirds  of  the 
total  staff  in  the  field.” 


Missionary  Comity 


Comity 
and  Unity 


In  completing  this  survey  of  the  missionary 
movement  in  India  previous  to  1850,  before 
passing  to  the  record  of  the  Sialkot  Mission 
of  the  United  Presbyterian,  it  is  worth  while  to 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS  171 


lay  emphasis  upon  the  unity  of  the  Christian 
missionary  movement  in  India. 

This  unity  will  be  recognized  in  the  common 
aim  of  the  ninety  different  missionary  societies 
laboring  in  India,  namely,  the  evangelization 
and  Christianization  of  India.  The  denom- 
inational rivalries,  of  which  foreign  missions 
are  sometimes  accused,  have  far  less  existence 
in  fact  than  they  do  in  the  imaginations  of 
those  who,  through  ignorance  or  prejudice, 
bring  in  such  accusations. 

The  unity  of  the  missionary  movement  can 
also  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  operations  of  the 
several  missions  are  unavoidably  inter-related. 
Almost  every  mission  in  India  is  reaping  where 
another  has  sown  and  is  enjoying  the  services 
of  workers  which  another  mission  has  trained. 
By  the  movements  of  trade  and  providential 
changes  of  residence,  each  mission  comes  into 
touch  with  the  work  or  workers  of  another 
mission. 

This  unity  is  seen  also  in  the  fact  that  the 
agencies  of  the  several  missions  are,  intention- 
ally or  unintentionally,  mutually  supplemen- 
tary. This  is  especially  true  in  all  forms  of 
special  work.  Colleges,  hospitals,  printing 
presses,  although  established  by  one  mission,  are 
frequently  patronized,  and  indeed  depended 


172  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


upon,  by  adjacent  missions  which  do  not  feel 
justified  in  founding  similar  institutions. 

This  unity  is  seen  in  the  comity  rules  which 
govern  missionary  work  in  India.  To  a degree 
unrecognized  and  unrealized  as  yet  in  the  home 
land,  the  Christian  agencies  in  India  are 
dividing  their  great  field  among  themselves,  so 
that  both  denominational  friction  and  waste  by 
overlapping  may  be  removed. 

This  unity  is  also  seen  in  the  Christian 
fellowship  of  missionaries  with  each  other.  It 
may  be  stated  with  emphasis  that  the  repre 
sentatives  of  different  missions  in  India  mingle 
with  greater  freedom  and  sympathy  than  do 
even  the  leaders  of  their  respective  home 
Churches.  Conditions  in  the  foreign  field  may 
afford  greater  opportunity  for  such  fellowship, 
through  travel  or  necessary  conference,  than 
obtains  in  the  home  field,  but  the  fact  remains 
that  there  is  such  cordial  fellowship. 

The  essential  unity  of  missions  receives  ad- 
ditional emphasis  from  the  sense  of  unity  felt 
by  native  Christians  who  belong  to  different 
missions  or  Churches,  but  who  retain  their 
sense  of  racial  unity  and  hold  to  none  of  those 
historic  traditions  which  so  often  lie  back  of 
present  day  divisions  in  the  Western  Church. 

All  of  this  deserves  emphasis  both  for  the 
sake  of  meeting  criticism  of  denominational 


A SURVEY  OF  MISSIONS  173 


rivalry  which  would  be  just  enough  if  based 
on  fact,  and  for  the  sake  of  pointing  out  a 
peculiar  service  which  missionary  work  in 
India  will  render  to  the  life  of  any  Church 
in  America  maintaining  such  work.  The 
United  Presbyterian  Church  of  N.  A.,  for 
example,  carries  on  foreign  missionary  work 
in  Egypt  and  the  Egyptian  Sudan,  as  well 
as  in  India.  In  neither  of  these  fields  has 
any  other  leading  American  missionary  so- 
ciety been  laboring.  For  decades,  indeed, 
the  United  Presbyterian  Mission  was  the  only 
one  operating  in  the  Nile  Valley.  It  was  not 
possible  for  the  home  Church  to  come  into  sym- 
pathetic missionary  fellowship  with  other 
Churches  through  such  work.  On  the  other 
hand,  her  mission  in  India  is  ever  bringing 
her  into  contact  with  other  missions  and  other 
Churches,  both  American  and  British.  This 
contact  is  a purifying  influence  working  for 
broad  Christian  sympathy  and  emphasizing  the 
essential  solidarity  of  evangelical  Christianity 
in  the  world. 


Service 
Rendered 
By  Indian 
Missions 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  SIALKOT 
MISSION 


“According  to  the  grace  of  God  which  was  given  nnto  me, 
as  a wise  master  builder  I laid  a foundation  ; and  another  build- 
eth  thereon.  For  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that 
which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ.’’ — Paul. 

“ Peace,  perfect  peace,  with  loved  ones  far  away  ? 

In  Jesus’  keeping  we  are  safe  and  they.” 

— E.  H.  Bickersteth. 

“ Someone  must  go,  and  if  no  one  else  will  go,  he  who  hears 
the  call  must  go  ; I hear  the  call,  for  indeed  God  has  brought  it 
before  me  on  every  side,  and  go  I must.” — Henry  IV.  Fox. 


VI 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION 

IN  Northwest  India,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Himalayas,  and  either  touching  or  stretch- 
ing across  four  of  the  five  great  rivers  that 
give  to  the  Punjab  its  name,  is  a territory,  in 
shape  strikingly  like  a human  shoulder  and  arm, 
which  is  recognized  to-day,  in  missionary  circles 
in  India,  as  the  field  of  “ the  Sialkot  Mission.” 
By  those  who  are  connected  with  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  in  North  America,  this 
field  and  this  mission  are  more  commonly  called, 
with  a touch  of  affection  and  interest,  “Our 
India  Mission.”  To  trace  its  beginnings,  we 
must  go  back  to  the  days  when  the  Associate 
Presbyterian  Church  was  still  a distinct  Church 
in  America,  and  when  the  union  which  gave 
birth,  in  1858,  to  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  was  still  in  a stage  of  general  discussion. 

In  1842,  this  Associate  Church  resolved  upon 
a mission  to  Trinidad,  and  sent  out  a number 
of  missionaries,  both  men  and  women.  The 
work,  however,  did  not  develop  satisfactorily, 

12  177 


Associate 

Church 

Missions 


178  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Launched 
lm  Prayer 


and  in  1851  it  was  practically  decided  to  aban- 
don this  field.  This  situation  probably  suggested 
the  propriety  of  opening  up  new  work  in  some 
other  field.  We  may  well  believe  that  the  lead- 
ers in  this  Church  were  also  in  touch  with  the 
political  and  missionary  events  which  were  re- 
ferred to  in  the  preceding  chapter,  and  which 
were  bringing  India  into  prominence. 

It  was  at  a prayer-meeting,  however,  that  the 
suggestion  was  first  made  publicly  that  the 
Church  should  undertake  a mission  in  India. 
The  venerable  Rev.  James  Rodgers,  D.D.,  pas- 
tor of  the  large  Allegheny  Church,  invited 
five  persons  to  meet  at  his  Church  to  con- 
sider the  subject  of  Foreign  Missions.  One 
stormy  night  there  met  together  these  five  per- 
sons, for  conference  and  prayer, — Messrs.  John 
Alexander  and  James  McCandless,  Mrs.  Gor- 
don, Mrs.  Lockhart  and  Dr.  Rodgers. 

“ More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer 
Than  this  world  dreams  of.” 

In  prayer,  the  vision  was  given  and  the  pur- 
pose formed,  to  launch  a mission  in  India.  At 
the  next  Sabbath  morning  service,  Dr.  Rodgers 
made  the  entire  congregation  sharers  of  the  same 
hope  and  purpose  that  had  animated  the  little 
prayer-meeting. 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  179 


In  May,  1853,  the  Associate  Presbyterian 
Synod  met  in  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  Dr.  Rodgers’s 
congregation  united  with  the  congregation  in 
Pittsburgh  in  presenting  a petition  and  making 
an  offer.  The  petition  was  for  the  launching  of 
a mission  in  India ; the  offer  consisted  of  a 
pledge  of  $600  toward  this  work.  The  Synod, 
after  prayer,  passed  the  following  resolutions, 
which  committed  the  Church  to  missionary  work 
in  India : 


“ Resolved.  That  the  Synod  engage  in  the  work  of  establish- 
ing a mission  in  Hindoostan,  in  accordance  with  the  memorial  of 
these  brethren. 

“ Resolved . That  a beginning  be  made  to  this  work  by  the 
nomination,  at  this  meeting  of  Synod,  of  a missionary  or  mission- 
aries. 

“ Resolved.  That  as  we  are  not  fully  prepared  at  this  meeting 
to  specify  the  particular  locality  to  which  the  missionary  shall  be 
sent,  the  Board,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  carry  out  the  acts  of 
the  Synod  on  this  subject,  be  directed  to  obtain  the  requisite  in- 
formation, and  act  accordingly.  * 

“ Resolved.  That  a committee  of  this  Synod  be  appointed  to 
address  the  church  in  reference  to  this  important  matter,  and  that 
the  pastors  of  the  several  congregations  be  earnestly  recommended 
to  bring  the  matter  before  the  brethren  of  the  church  with  a view 
to  the  raising  of  a sufficient  fund  for  this  purpose.  It  is  under- 
stood that  at  least  the  sum  of  three  thousand  dollars  will  be 
required  to  set  the  mission  in  operation.’  ” 


The  next  step  was  to  select  the  first  mission- 
aries. The  Synod  followed  a method  which  in- 


Synod’s 

Action 


Method  of 
Selecting 
Mission- 
aries 


180  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


deed  was  ultimately  responsible  for  the  selection 
of  the  first  missionary  to  India,  but  which  has 
failed  so  frequently  that  it  is  no  longer  followed. 
In  later  years,  the  India  Mission  itself  requested 
the  Church  to  abandon  the  plan.  This  plan  was 
to  select  men  whom  the  Church  felt  were  quali- 
fied for  missionary  appointment  and  give  them 
a missionary  commission  without  consulting 
them,  leaving  the  responsibility  with  them  for 
declining  to  accept  such  appointment.  Accord- 
ingly, the  names  of  ten  ministers  were,  after 
prayer,  placed  in  nomination  by  the  Synod  of 
1853.  Every  one  of  the  ten  found  reasons  for 
declining  the  nomination  of  the  Church,  and  a 
whole  year  passed  without  further  action  in  the 
matter. 

The  next  year,  the  Synod  met  at  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  and  some  were  in  favor  of  abandoning 
the  former,  hitherto  unsuccessful,  method  of  se- 
lecting missionaries.  The  Synod  proceeded  to 
select  two  men  after  the  same  method  as  on  the 
previous  yean.  Two  names  were  chosen.  These 
very  two  were  among  those  who  had  most  boldly 
defended  this  plan  of  selection,  quoting  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Scottish  forefathers  who  suspended 
men  who  refused  to  go  wherever  the  Church 
might  send  them.  Yet,  when  their  names  were 
read  out,  they  both  presented  excuses,  the  one 
declining  to  go  and  the  other  being  released  by 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  181 


the  Synod.  Experience  has  since  shown  that  in 
so  important  a matter  as  a life  calling  to  the 
foreign  field,  where  there  is  no  room  for  that 
temporary  service  which  obtains  in  the  case  of 
a pastorate  at  home,  it  is  only  right  and  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  the  guidance  both  of  Provi- 
dence and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  have  revealed 
to  the  candidate  somewhat  of  the  will  of  God 
for  him,  so  that  when  the  general  appeal  for 
workers  is  presented  he  will  venture,  if  not  to 
volunteer,  at  least  to  make  known  to  the  proper 
authorities,  his  willingness  to  have  his  name 
considered  in  connection  with  the  existing  need 
for  workers. 

A young  licentiate,  Mr.  Andrew  Gordon,  hap- 
pened to  be  present  at  this  session  of  the  meeting 
of  the  Synod.  When  the  whole  subject  was  side- 
tracked for  the  transaction  of  other  business, 
this  young  man  left,  thinking  that  nothing  fur- 
ther would  be  done  about  it  until  the  following 
year.  While  he  was  not  yet  settled,  Mr.  Gordon 
had  not  given  foreign  missionary  service  any 
thought.  It  was  a matter  of  considerable  sur- 
prise to  him  to  learn,  a few  days  later,  that  the 
Synod,  before  adjourning  finally,  had  taken  up 
again  the  consideration  of  establishing  a mission 
in  India,  and  had  selected  himself  and  one  other 
minister  to  be  its  first  representatives  on  the 
foreign  field.  It  was  not  altogether  an  easy 


Andrew 

Gordon 


182  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Sailing 

from* 

New  York 


matter  for  him  to  know  what  was  his  duty. 
Others  had  declined  such  appointment;  why 
should  not  he  ? Even  the  minister  last  ap- 
pointed, who  was  to  accompany  him,  had  al- 
ready stated  that  he  could  not  go.  His  wife,  an 
ardent  lover  of  home,  had  not  thought  of  such 
separation  from  her  loved  ones.  There  were, 
indeed,  “lions  in  the  way.”  But  two  facts  pre- 
vailed at  last — -Mr.  Gordon  had  surrendered  his 
life  to  the  service  of  Christ,  and  here  was  a call 
which  seemed  to  come  from  an  objective  provi- 
dence in  which  he  had  had  no  part.  This  out- 
weighed other  reasons  and  Mr.  Gordon  accepted 
the  appointment.  There  accompanied  him  to 
India,  his  wife  and  little  child,  and  his  sister, 
Miss  Elizabeth  G.  Gordon. 

A DECADE  OF  BEGINNINGS  (1855-65) 

It  was  12  o’clock  on  the  28th  of  September, 
1854,  when  the  little  ship  Sabine  sailed  out  of 
New  York  harbor,  bearing  the  brave  trio  who 
were  to  have  the  abiding  honor  of  being  the  first 
missionaries,  of  their  Church,  to  India.  Their 
course  will  seem  strange  and  circuitous  in  our 
day  of  direct  travel  via  the  Suez  Canal  and  by 
rapid  steamers.  Their  ship,  however,  was  a sail- 
ing vessel,  and  their  route  lay  southward  from 
New  York,  past  South  America,  to  the  46th  de- 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  183 


gree  of  south  latitude,  fully  10  degrees  south  of 
Africa ; then  eastward  in  the  Southern  Ocean 
until  they  were  clear  of  Africa ; then  northward 
toward  the  eastern  coast  of  India,  landing  finally 
at  Calcutta.  The  voyage  occupied  139  days; 
to-day,  the  more  direct  route  requires  less  than 
five  weeks.  In  those  days,  postage  to  India  cost 
between  twenty  and  thirty  cents  per  half  ounce 
for  letters,  as  against  five  cents  per  whole  ounce 
to-day. 

The  party  arrived  at  Calcutta  on  the  13th  of 
February,  1855.  Inland  travel  in  India  was, 
at  that  time,  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  con- 
ditions of  to-day.  To-day  the  missionary  may 
land  at  Bombay  or  Calcutta,  and  the  railroad, 
with  its  rapid  service  and  comfortable  equip- 
ment of  both  seats  and  berths,  at  a cost  lower 
even  than  that  of  American  railways,  will  trans- 
port the  missionary  from  either  of  these  main 
ports  to  Sialkot  (distances  of  1,200  miles  and 
1,400  miles  respectively),  in  about  two  days. 
But  railroad  construction  only  began  in  India 
in  1853,  and  only  one  hundred  miles  were  in 
operation  in  1855.  Travel  to  the  Punjab  was 
therefore  made  by  wagons  drawn  by  coolies. 
The  “Grand  Trunk  Road,”  constructed  by  the 
British  between  Calcutta  and  Peshawar,  made 
such  travel  easier,  but  it  was,  nevertheless,  an 
undertaking  of  some  four  weeks’  travel. 


Arrival  at 
Calcutta 


184  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Journey 

Northward 


Arrival  at 
Sialkot 


The  party  stopped  en  route  at  Saharanpur. 
Here  three  things  at  once  engaged  their  atten- 
tion : the  study  of  the  Urdu  language,  consulta- 
tion with  other  missionaries  as  to  the  best  mis- 
sionary methods,  and  the  choice  of  a particular 
field  of  work.  This  last  matter  may  well  be 
considered  in  detail,  for  upon  it  hinged  the 
whole  future  history  of  the  Church’s  work  in 
India.  Three  considerations  led  to  the  selection 
of  the  Punjab:  (a)  Mr.  Gordon’s  Presbytery 
had  ordained  him  as  a missionary  to  North  In- 
dia. (b)  The  Punjab  was  a section  just  recently 
opened  up  (since  1849),  and  was  therefore  the 
least  occupied.  Here  work  could  he  initiated, 
and  even  extended,  with  least  danger  of  infring- 
ing upon  missionary  societies  already  estab- 
lished. (c)  The  northern  climate  promised  to 
be  less  trying  than  the  climate  of  Central  or 
South  India. 

Leaving  the  rest  of  his  party  at  Saharanpur, 
and  dividing  with  them  his  small  unexpended 
financial  resources,  Mr.  Gordon  pushed  on  to 
Sialkot,  where  he  arrived  on  August  8th,  1855, 
from  which  date  the  founding  of  the  Mission 
may  be  reckoned. 


Short  of 
Funds 


Founding  the  Mission 

When  Mr.  Gordon  reached  Sialkot  he  had  $17 
in  his  pocket.  Logically,  the  first  duty  was  to 


Founders  and  First  Workers 

Mrs.  Rebecca  C.  Gordon.  Miss  Elizabeth  G.  Gordon. 

Rev.  Andrew  Gordon,  D.D. 

Rev.  George  W.  Scott.  Rev.  Elisha  P.  Swift. 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  185; 


secure  a site  for  a mission  residence  and  begin 
building.  He  went  forward  as  far  as  be  could 
without  acquainting  others  with  the  depleted 
condition  of  his  mission  treasury.  A lot  was 
secured,  without  the  necessity  of  any  immediate 
payment,  but  building  operations  could  not  be 
begun  without  ready  cash.  Week  after  week 
passed  with  neither  a remittance  from  America 
nor  word  as  to  when  such  remittance  might  be 
expected.  Mr.  Gordon’s  friends,  British  offi- 
cials at  Sialkot,  kept  urging  him  strongly  to 
begin  building  operations ; his  reluctance  and 
delay  became  inexplicable.  At  last  they  began 
to  suspect  that  his  resources  were  limited. 
These  kind-hearted  men  passed  around  a sub- 
scription paper  and  $250  was  secured.  On  this 
amount  Mr.  Gordon  continued  to  live  and  meet 
necessary  expenses.  Then  word  came  from  his 
family  at  Saharanpur  that  the  house  in  which 
they  had  been  living,  free  of  charge,  was  in  de- 
mand, that  their  funds  were  exhausted,  and  that 
they  were  even  financially  obligated  to  some  of 
the  missionaries  at  that  station.  His  own  funds 
now  completely  exhausted,  Mr.  Gordon  was 
compelled  to  go  to  a Captain  Mill  and  tell  him, 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  the  whole  situation. 
Captain  Mill  reproached  him  only  because  he 
had  not  asked  him  for  help  before,  and  at  once 
gave  him  all  he  asked,  $125.  With  this  amount 


186  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Building 

Begun 


Reenforce- 

ments 


immediate  needs  were  again  met,  and  Mr.  Gor- 
don’s family  was  brought  on  to  Sialkot. 

Soon  after  this,  in  November,  the  long-looked- 
for  remittance  from  America  arrived  and  build- 
ing operations  were  begun.  It  happens  fre- 
quently that  inexperienced  missionary  candi- 
dates think  of  their  future  work  wholly  in  terms 
of  spiritual  service.  Frequently,  especially  in 
undeveloped  mission  fields,  a large  part  of  the 
missionary’s  time,  thought,  and  energy,  must  be 
devoted  to  purely  material  and  secular  opera- 
tions. Such  was  the  case  with  Mr.  Gordon  and 
his  erection  of  a mission  residence.  The  only 
consolation  he  had  for  the  six  months  of  anxiety 
which  the  superintendence  of  these  building  op- 
erations cost  him,  was  that  this  work  was  neces- 
sary and  unavoidable,  and  that  it  contributed 
somewhat  to  his  acquaintance  with  the  language, 
and  still  more  to  his  acquaintance  with  the  dis- 
honesty and  shrewdness  of  Indian  workmen.* 

On  January  12th,  1856, 'the  Rev.  R.  E.  and 
Mrs.  Stevenson  and  the  Rev.  R.  A.  and  Mrs. 
Hill,  who  had  been  sent  out  to  reenforce  the 
Mission,  arrived  in  Calcutta.  The  missionary 
force  now  consisted  of  three  ordained  men  and 
their  wives  and  one  unmarried  woman  mission- 

* Read  the  most  interesting  account  in  Chapter  VI  of  Gordon’s 
“Our  India  Mission.” 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  187 


ary.  Not  till  twenty  years  later,  however,  did 
the  mission  force  exceed  this  number,  and  for 
several  years  removals  or  illness  reduced  even 
this  small  number. 

May,  1857,  affords  a suitable  date  for  review- 
ing the  work  of  the  Sialkot  Mission  since  Mr. 
Gordon’s  arrival.  The  mission  staff  has  received 
substantial  reenforcement.  The  mission  build- 
ing erected  by  Mr.  Gordon  now  has  another  mis- 
sion residence  near  to  it,  while  still  another  has 
been  secured  on  the  north  side  of  the  city.  The 
presence  of  a large  number  of  destitute  chil- 
dren and  orphans  had  suggested  the  establish- 
ment of  an  orphanage,  which  at  one  time  had 
twenty-two  children  in  it,  but,  subsequently,  lost 
all  but  three.  The  missionaries  were  still  devot- 
ing most  of  their  time  to  the  study  of  the  lan- 
guage. Two  young  native  Christians,  Messrs. 
Scott  and  Swift,  had  been  engaged  to  assist  in 
mission  work,  and  were  being  trained  for  the 
Christian  ministry.  With  their  aid,  some  evan- 
gelistic work  had  been  done.  An  exploration 
and  evangelistic  tour,  headed  for  Jhelum,  had 
failed  within  sight  of  Sialkot,  but  a similar  ef- 
fort in  the  direction  of  Zafarwal  had  proved 
successful.  A large  number  of  Scriptures  and 
other  Christian  books  had  been  distributed. 
Educational  work  had  been  launched  in  three 
directions:  the  theological  training  of  Messrs. 


General 

Surrey 


188  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Beginnings 


Scott  and  Swift*  had  been  begun ; a city  school, 
begun  at  Sialkot  by  the  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety of  Amritsar,  and  conducted  by  them  under 
native  supervision,  was  taken  over  by  the  Amer- 
ican missionary,  and  now  had  seventy  pupils  en- 
rolled ; and,  finally,  some  elementary  or  primary 
education  was  being  given  at  the  South  mission 
premises. 

Progress  had  also  been  made  in  organiz- 
ation. The  three  ordained  missionaries  had 
organized  themselves  in  November,  1856,  into 
a Missionary  Association,  which  wTas  to  he 
the  responsible  agency  in  everything  relating  to 
the  use  of  foreign  funds  and  other  matters  con- 
nected with  the  Board  in  America.  On  the  ISth 
of  December,  1856,  the  congregation  of  Sialkot 
was  organized,  consisting  of  the  missionaries,  the 
native  Christian  assistants  and  their  families. 
On  December  18th,  1856,  the  Presbytery  of 
Sialkot  was  constituted.  It  consisted  of  the 
three  ordained  missionaries,  and  was  subordi- 
nate to  the  Associate  Presbyterian  Synod  of 
America. 

Even  these  twenty-one  months  of  the  Mission’s 
brief  existence  had  availed  much  toward  initia- 
ting, however  humble  the  beginnings  were,  those 

* Read  account  of  their  antecedents  in  Chapter  VII  of  Gordon’s 
“Our  India  Mission.” 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  189 


lines  of  work  which  have  since  developed  to  such 
considerable  degree.  We  find  the  germ  of  edu- 
cational work,  both  for  Christians  and  for  non- 
Christians,  the  prophecy  of  a theological  semi- 
nary, the  foregleam  of  industrial  work,  the  be- 
ginnings of  itinerating  work  and  book-distribu- 
tions, and  the  first  example  of  regular  preaching 
services.  We  find  the  foundation  laid  for  a 
native  Church  in  India,  in  the  first  congrega- 
tional organization  and  the  first  presbyter ial  or- 
ganizaton.  Medical  work  had  not  yet  appeared ; 
neither  had  the  Mission  gathered  even  the  first 
fruits  of  the  rich  spiritual  harvest  which  a suc- 
cessful future  concealed.  Yet  there  were  in- 
quirers. 

Toward  the  close  of  1856  there  arrived  in 
Sialkot  two  missionaries  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land. They  did  not  seem  to  have  known,  when 
leaving  their  homeland,  that  Sialkot  was  already 
occupied,  and,  upon  discovering  the  fact,  con- 
ferred with  the  American  missionaries  and 
planned  to  remain  in  Sialkot  merely  for  the 
study  of  the  language,  and  then,  either  to  seek 
some  new  and  entirely  unoccupied  field,  or  to 
locate  in  the  section  of  the  city  which  lay  to  the 
north  of  the  Wazirabad  road,  with  a view  to 
making  that  road  the  boundary  line,  and  the 
territory  north  their  field  of  labor. 


Scotch 

Mission- 

aries 


190  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The  Sepoy  Rebellion 

“It  was  near  the  middle  of  May,  1857,”  wrote 
Mr.  Gordon  in  his  “Our  India  Mission,”  “the 
wheat  and  barley  fields,  reaped  close  to  the  hare 
clay,  exposed  their  surface  to  the  sun’s  perpen- 
dicular rays;  hot  air  quivered  over  the  plain, 
and  the  atmosphere  was  all  ablaze ; thatched 
shades  had  been  erected  over  our  doors  to  break 
the  glare ; and  to  avoid  all  needless  exposure,  the 
programme  for  out-door  work  had  been  shifted 
to  the  cooler  hours  of  the  morning  and  evening 
. . . when  suddenly  the  horrors  of  the  Sepoy 

Rebellion  burst  upon  us  like  a desolating 
cyclone.  At  9 A.  M.,  on  the  14th  of  May,  a 
messenger  dressed  in  uniform  and  mounted  on 
a fleet  horse,  came  dashing  up  to  our  door,  bear- 
ing a note  from  the  Deputy  Commissioner,  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  District,  containing  these 
startling  words : 


My  Dear  Mr.  Gordon  : — Please  suspend  your  preaching  for 
a season — especially  do  not  allow  your  native  preachers  to  go 
about  Have  you  heard  that  Delhi  has  been  taken  by  the 
mutineers , and  the  European  population  massacred  ? This 
reached  me  last  night  by  express.  The  Dak  (post)  is  cut  off, 
and  the  electric  telegraph  broken.  Please  do  not  mention  this  to 
any  native. 

Yours  sincerely, 

H.  Monckton. 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  191 


“ A little  later  on,  the  same  morning,  another 
friend  wrote  to  us  that  the  Third  Light  Cavalry 
from  Meerut  had  captured  the  bridge  of  boats  at 
Delhi;  that  the  Fifty-fourth  Native  Infantry 
Regiment  at  Delhi,  being  ordered  out  against 
them,  refused  to  obey,  killed  their  own  English 
officers,  and  joined  the  mutinous  cavalry.  . . . 

“Still  a little  later  came  the  news  that  a body 
of  European  troops  had  been  attacked  whilst  at 
church  on  the  Sabbath — of  course  unarmed — 
that  the  mutiny  had  extended  to  other  stations, 
some  of  them  nearer  to  us ; that  women  and  chil- 
dren were  not  spared  in  the  general  massacre, 
and  that  the  same  dreadful  scenes  might  any 
hour  be  repeated  in  Sialkot.” 

For  a detailed  description  of  what  followed 
at  Sialkot,  the  reader  must  he  referred  to  Mr. 
Gordon’s  hook,  while  general  histories  of  the 
Mutiny  may  be  consulted  for  detailed  accounts 
of  what  took  place  all  over  India.  Here  we 
must  limit  ourselves  to  the  barest  outline  of  mat- 
ters which  affected  the  Sialkot  missionaries. 

That  fourteenth  day  of  May  was  one  of  awful 
suspense  to  the  missionaries.  Those  living  at 
the  South  Mission  Premises  (as  a glance  at  the 
map  will  show),  were  far  removed  for  any  pos- 
sible protection  by  the  British  forces,  whose  bar- 
racks were  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  city.  But 
even  within  the  Cantonment  itself  safety  was 


Ominous 

Rumors 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  193 


not  at  all  assured,  for  there  were  2,200  Sepoys 
there  in  addition  to  the  900  British  soldiers. 
And  these  Sepoys  might  mutiny  at  any  moment. 
However,  feeling  that  nearness  to  the  British 
troops  would  mean  greater  safety,  the  mission- 
aries visited  the  officers  in  the  Cantonment  and 
were  assigned,  that  evening,  to  the  residence  of 
Dr.  McKainch,  who  was  away. 

Within  a few  days  the  slender  British  force 
which  insured  peace  at  Sialkot,  had  to  he  with- 
drawn to  carry  out  the  military  plans  projected 
for  the  suppression  of  the  mutiny  at  Delhi.  Sir 
John  Lawrence  invited  all  to  seek  safety  within 
the  fort  at  Lahore,  seventy  miles  south  of  Sial- 
kot. Few,  however,  availed  themselves  of  this 
invitation  and  warning,  for,  on  the  one  hand, 
many  British  government  officials  felt  that  such 
a movement  on  their  part  might  precipitate  an 
uprising,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  almost  all 
experienced  a reaction  of  confidence  after  the 
first  emotions  of  panic.  The  next  day  after  the 
removal  of  the  British  troops,  Mr.  Hunter,  the 
Scotch  missionary,  urged  an  immediate  depar- 
ture for  Lahore,  but  the  American  missionaries 
were  loath  to  leave  just  then.  A few  days  later, 
after  a conference,  the  American  missionaries 
decided  that  Mr.  Gordon  should  take  the  women 
and  children  to  Lahore,  and  that  the  men  should 
follow  shortly  after.  The  Scotch  missionaries 
13 


Without 

Protection 


194  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


were  invited  to  accompany  the  party,  but,  this 
time,  it  was  they  who  declined.  The  Amer- 
icans, however,  went  forward  with  their  plans 
and  reached  Lahore  safely.  Mr.  Gordon’s  little 
boy  had  had  a severe  attack  of  fever.  This, 
with  the  exposure  incident  to  the  journey  from 
Sialkot,  resulted  in  his  death,  on  July  11th, — 
the  first  death  in  the  mission  circle.  The  par- 
ents were  bending  over  the  couch  and  life  was 
just  leaving  the  little  body  when  the  Rev.  G.  O. 
Barnes,  of  Lahore,  entered  the  room  and  read 
with  deep  emotion  the  following  letter: 


“Brethren  : — The  Sepoys  in  Sialkot  have  mutinied  ! Gen- 
era! Brind,  the  commanding  officer  of  the  station  ; Dr.  J. 
Graham,  the  superintending  surgeon ; Dr.  J.  C.  Graham,  the 
civil  surgeon  ; Captain  Bishop,  and  poor  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hunter 
and  their  babe,  have  all  been  murdered.” 


Tragedy  To  refer  only  to  the  death  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Hunter,  the  Scotch  missionaries,  it  should  be 
noted  that  on  July  8th  they  left  their  residence 
in  the  Cantonment  and  moved  into  Mr.  Hill’s 
house,  which  was  but  a quarter  of  a mile  away 
from  the  Deputy  Commissioner’s  house.*  There 
remained  no  advantage  in  living  near  the  bar- 
racks, for  all  British  troops  had  been  with- 
drawn. While  the  Thirty-fifth  Native  Infantry 


*See  map,  p.  192. 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  195 


had  also  been  ordered  away,  there  remained  the 
Forty-sixth  Native  Infantry  Regiment  and  the 
Ninth  Cavalry.  If  these  revolted,  the  Canton- 
ment would  be  the  place  of  greatest  danger. 
■One  place  only  presented  any  sort  of  refuge; 
that  was  the  fort,  which  overlooked  the  city. 

It  was  arranged  to  keep  a watch  at  the 
Deputy  Commissioner’s  house,  and  at  the  first 
sign  of  revolt,  to  warn  the  Hunters.  The 
watch,  however,  failed  to  accomplish  the  de- 
sired end.  On  the  morning  of  the  9 th,  the 
mutinous  soldiers  opened  the  city  jail  and  let 
loose  a number  of  desperate  characters.  The 
Sepoys  of  the  Ninth  Cavalry  then  openly  re- 
volted and  went  about  shooting  every  British 
officer  they  could  reach.  Hurmat  Khan,  a man 
of  great  size  and  strength,  who  had  been  a pro- 
fessional flogger  at  the  Sialkot  Court  House, 
and  had  shortly  before  been  dismissed,  was  a 
leader  in  the  sedition. 

It  seems  that  the  Hunters,  discovering  for 
themselves  that  the  mutiny  had  broken  out, 
started  to  drive  from  Mr.  Hill’s  house  straight 
for  the  fort.  This  led  them  by  an  open  road 
in  full  view  of  the  jail,  from  which  criminals 
were  being  liberated.  “When  the  desperadoes 
saw  Mr.  Hunter’s  conveyance  passing,  one  of 
them  said  to  another,  ‘ Yonder  comes  a carriage 
load  of  the  English ; who  will  go  and  kill  them  V 


196  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Prophetic 

Words 

Others  said,  ‘That  is  the  Padri  Sahib  (mission- 
ary) and  his  family;  they  have  done  us  no 
harm;  our  quarrel  is  with  the  government.’ 
After  a brief  discussion  of  this  kind  among 
themselves,  no  one  else  being  willing  to  shed 
innocent  blood  without  cause,  Hurmat  Khan 
went  himself  to  do  the  murderous  deed.  Meet- 
ing them  a short  distance  northeast  of  the  jail, 
just  after  they  had  crossed  the  dry  bed  of 
Palkhu  creek  on  their  way  to  the  fort,*  he  first 
shot  Mr.  Hunter,  then  cut  down  Mrs.  Hunter 
with  his  sword,  and  finally  killed  their  child, 
and  left  them  weltering  in  their  blood  upon  the 
ground.”  f So  died  these  Scotch  missionaries, 
with  but  a brief  half  year  elapsed  since  their 
arrival  on  the  field.  In  one  of  his  first  letters 
home,  after  reaching  Sialkot,  Mr.  Hunter  had 
written — were  his  words  prophetic  of  the  end  ? 
— “ We  go  forth  in  sorrow,  bearing  with  us  the 
precious  seed.  The  sowing  may  perhaps  be  all 
our  work ; we  may  not  in  this  world  be  able  to 
point  to  a single  convert.”  t 

On  the  evening  of  July  9th,  the  rebels 
marched  out  of  Sialkot  eastward,  with  Delhi  as 
their  ultimate  goal.  Nine  miles  from  Gurdas- 

* The  place  where  they  fell  is  marked  on  the  map,  p.  192. 
fA.  Gordon,  “Our  India  Mission,”  p.  148. 

}H.  F.  L.  Taylor,  “In  the  Land  of  the  Five  Rivers,”  p.  15. 

THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  197 


pur,  they  were  surprised  by  Colonel  Nicholson 
and  his  movable  column,  and  defeated.  Thrown 
back  in  confusion  upon  the  Ravi  River,  which 
had  swollen  since  their  crossing,  many  were 
killed  and  others  were  drowned.  It  is  not  be- 
lieved that  any  of  them  succeeded  in  reaching 
Delhi. 

When  we  remember  that  of  the  English  who 
remained  in  Sialkot,  there  were  about  one  hun- 
dred men,  women  and  children,  and  that,  after 
all,  only  seven  were  murdered  on  that  fateful 
July  9th,  some  explanation  will  be  needed. 
This  low  mortality  is  due,  in  part,  to  the  fact 
that  the  Forty-sixth  Infantry  refused  to  join  in 
the  murderous  proceedings,  and  even  protected 
its  own  officers  and  their  families.  Further- 
more, in  more  than  one  instance,  household 
servants,  both  Moslems  and  Hindus,  assisted 
their  masters  and  their  families  to  places  of  hid- 
ing and  safety.  And  finally,  we  need  to  re- 
member that  the  common  people  did  not  mu- 
tiny, but  only  the  soldiers.  The  village  people 
did  come  in  to  loot  the  European  houses,  but 
beyond  this  they  did  not  go. 

Mission  Work  Resumed 

In  another  chapter,  the  effect  of  the  Sepoy 
Mutiny  upon  the  political  development  of  India 


198  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The  Mission 
and  the 
Mutiny 


First  Fruits 


has  been  considered.  So  far  as  it  directly  af- 
fected the  United  Presbyterian  Mission,  it  re- 
sulted in  the  suspension  of  missionary  work  be- 
tween the  spring  and  autumn  of  1857,  and  the 
destruction  of  some  mission  property  in  Sialkot. 
The  Government,  however,  made  good  these 
property  losses.  In  the  fall,  the  missionaries 
resumed  aggressively  missionary  work. 

October  25th,  1857,  is  a date  to  be  remem- 
bered by  all  interested  in  the  development  of  the 
Mission.  On  that  Sabbath  day,  two  men,  the 
first  fruits  of  missionary  service,  stood  up  to- 
gether to  receive  baptism.  The  positions  occu- 
pied in  Indian  society  by  these  two  converts 
gave  a significance  to  this  service,  which  only 
those  acquainted  with  the  meaning  of  the  In- 
dian caste  system  will  appreciate.  One,  Earn 
Bhajan  by  name,  was  an  educated  high  caste 
Hindu.  The  other,  Jauhari,  was  an  aged  ig- 
norant member  of  the  despised  Chuhra  class  of 
outcastes.*  Thus,  at  the  first  accession  to  the 
Church,  the  future  of  the  Mission’s  work  was 
fully  safeguarded  against  the  evil  which  char- 
acterized Romish  missions, — that  of  permitting 
within  the  Church  caste  distinctions.  Thus, 
too,  did  God  grant,  at  the  outset,  in  these  two 
converts,  His  pledge  of  success  among  the  low 


* For  description  of  Chuhras,  see  pages  53,  228,  229. 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  19D 


and  degraded  at  the  bottom  of  Indian  society, 
and  the  low  and  degraded  at  the  top  of  Indian 
society. 

A church  building  which  was  much  needed 
in  Sialkot,  was  at  last  completed,  all  the  funds 
for  this  having  been  secured  in  India.  On 
August  14th,  1859,  this  church  building,  the 
Mission’s  first,  was  dedicated. 

The  Mission  school  for  non-Christians  in 
Sialkot,  continued  to  be  well  attended,  although 
the  avowal  of  Bal  Krishn,  one  of  the  Brahman 
boys,  of  himself  as  a Christian,  brought  the  at- 
tendance down,  temporarily,  from  ninety  to 
fifteen.  This  young  lad  withstood  severe  oppo- 
sition confessing  Christ,  but  subsequently  the 
Mission  lost  sight  of  him  entirely. 

The  Orphanage,  which  had  come  through  the 
Mutiny  with  three  pupils,  increased  rapidly,  as 
the  government  occasionally  brought  to  the  mis- 
sionaries girls  rescued  from  immoral  institu- 
tions, and  more  frequently  turned  over  famine 
children  and  the  children  of  parents  who  were 
being  committed  to  jail  for  long  term  sentences. 
In  1863,  the  boys’  department  of  the  Orphanage 
was  transferred  to  Gujranwala. 

During  this  decade,  also,  on  the  7th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1859,  Messrs.  Scott  and  Swift  were  or- 
dained by  the  Sialkot  Presbytery.  They  were 
therefore  the  first  of  a long  line  of  natives  or- 


200  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The  First 
Becade 


dained  for  the  ministry  in  the  native  Church  in 
India. 

The  work  of  itinerating,  so  distinctive  a char- 
acteristic of  the  Mission  in  India,  was  carried 
on  chiefly  through  the  aggressive  work  of  the 
native  minister,  the  Rev.  George  W.  Scott.  It 
was  through  this  work  that  Gujranwala,  then  a 
city  of  some  19,000  souls  and  the  center  of  a 
district  of  some  600,000  souls,  was  finally  se- 
lected as  a new  main  station.  In  1863,  the  Rev. 
James  S.  Barr,  who  had  now  been  two  years 
in  the  country,  together  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Scott,  was  appointed  to  occupy  this  important 
station  permanently. 

The  first  decade  of  the  Mission’s  history 
closed,  with  a good  showing  in  every  direction, 
save  for  two  considerations.  The  health  of  the 
missionary  force  was  seriously  impaired  and 
financial  support  by  the  Home  Church  had  be- 
come greatly  limited.  In  1864,  Messrs.  Gor- 
don and  Stevenson,  and  their  families,  with 
Miss  Gordon,  were  all  compelled  to  leave  the 
country.  As  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hill  had  left  in 
1860,  and  the  Rev.  James  S.  Barr  was  the  only 
reenforcement  received,  the  Mission  was  left 
in  the  sole  charge  of  the  latter,  who  had  been 
on  the  field  less  than  three  years,  and  the  for- 
eign missionary  force  was  actually  weaker  nu- 
merically than  when  the  Mission  was  founded. 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  201 


Furthermore,  the  support  of  the  Home  Church 
had  become  so  seriously  reduced,  that  for  a 
while  the  Sialkot  Boys’  School  and  the  Orphan- 
age were  closed,  and  even  itinerating  work  was 
suspended  for  lack  of  funds. 

YEAES  OF  TEIAL  AND  TEITJMPH  (1865-80) 

In  so  brief  an  outline  as  is  here  permitted, 
few  details  can  be  given.  The  dominating 
characteristics  of  certain  periods  can  alone  be 
indicated.  The  next  period,  one  of  fifteen 
years,  requires  the  double  characterization  of 
Trial  and  Triumph. 

There  was  trial  both  in  the  sense  of  limita- 
tions and  in  the  sense  of  experiment.  In  the 
sense  of  limitation,  we  would  refer  again  to  the 
deplorable  reduction  in  the  missionary  force, 
which  continued  for  almost  a decade  before  the 
full  complement  of  ordained  foreign  mission- 
aries, which  the  Mission  had  in  1862,  was  re- 
stored. We  may  realize  how  heavy  was  the 
burden  and  how  trying  was  the  situation  when 
it  would  wring  so  passionate  an  appeal  as  we 
read  in  the  Report  of  the  Mission  to  the  As- 
sembly of  1869 : 


“ Had  our  loved  country  shown  the  same  indifference  to  keep- 
ing up  her  effective  force  during  the  rebellion,  that  the  Church 


Limitation 


202  EAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


has  shown  toward  the  Mission,  her  efforts  woul  d not  have  been 
crowned  with  such  signal  success  ; nor  could  she  now  show  that 
the  dark  stain  of  slavery  had  been  blotted  out.  During  the 
eighteen  years  this  Mission  has  been  in  existence,  what  has  been 
the  burden  of  annual  reports  but  the  cry  of  want  of  men  and 
means  adequate  to  the  work  ? When,  a few  years  since,  the  cry 
went  forth  that  but  one  American  missionary  was  left  in  the 
Mission,  and  he  the  youngest  and  of  least  experience,  what  did 
the  Church  do  for  its  relief?  Was  there  an  instant  response  to  a 
call  for  help  ? Of  all  appointed  during  the  following  years,  but 
two  cheered  us  with  their  presence.  Where  three  had  been 
called  away,  two  were  sent  to  fill  their  places.  Last  year  the 
General  Assembly  broke  up  with  loud  promises  of  reentorcements 
to  this  Mission.  To  one  without  experience  of  the  past,  the  year 
seemed  fraught  with  the  highest  hope.  It  has  passed  with  the 
usual  result, — no  one  has  come  ....  Why  is  this?  It  cannot 
be  from  ignorance  of  duty.  It  cannot  be  that  the  field  is  not 
ready  for  the  harvest, — that  souls  are  not  perishing  for  lack  of 
knowledge  ....  Is  it  because  of  felt  unfaithfulness  in  your 
missionaries  here  ? If  it  is,  do  not  mete  out  on  the  perishing 
heathen  our  want  of  zeal,  but  send  us  true,  earnest,  faithful  men 
— men  who  will  view  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance,  the  com- 
forts and  enjoyments  of  civilized  life — who  will  struggle  to  forget 
the  intellectual  joys  of  ministerial  life  at  home  and  use  all  their 
powers  to  win  heathen  souls  to  Christ.”  * 


Experiment 


But  this  period  was  also  one  of  trial  in  the 
sense  of  experiment.  A number  of  missionary 
methods  were  “tried  out;”  some  were  found 
worthy ; others  were  found  unwise  and  were 
abandoned. 

One  policy  which  was  abandoned  after  sev- 


* Annual  Report  of  Board  for  1869,  page  18. 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  203 


eral  years  of  testing,  was  that  of  giving  aid  to 
converts.  In  our  land  where  no  particular 
stigma  attaches  to  becoming  a Christian,  and 
practically  no  financial  or  social  disadvantages 
are  involved,  a harsh  and  sweeping  judgment 
may  be  passed  upon  the  whole  question.  To 
missionaries  in  India,  however,  in  those  early 
days,  it  seemed  a cruel  and  even  inhuman  thing 
to  ignore  altogether  the  problem  of  subsistence 
even,  which  conversion  to  Christianity  brought 
upon  the  new  convert.  The  religious  and  social 
system  of  India  was  such,  that  the  most  bitter 
hatred  was  displayed  toward  any  one  forsaking 
his  faith.  “This  hatred,”  says  Dr.  Gordon, 

“was  shown  by  refusing  to  give  him  food  or 
water,  forbidding  persons  to  sell  anything  to 
him,  turning  him  out  of  house  and  home,  de- 
priving him  of  his  just  share  of  his  father’s 
property,  setting  his  wife  and  children  against 
him,  cutting  him  off  from  all  communication 
with  them,  raising  a mob  against  him,  beating 
him,  threatening  his  life,  shutting  him  up  with- 
out food  in  a dark  room,  conveying  him  away 
in  the  night  to  parts  unknown,  administering 
poison  and  other  similar  treatment.” 

Several  courses  were  followed  in  endeavoring  Helping 

. , _ , . Converts 

to  meet  the  need.  At  first  the  missionaries  gave 
help  outright  to  such  persecuted  inquirers ; but 
this  was  soon  discontinued.  Then,  they  endeav- 


204  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


ored  to  engage  them  at  regular  wages  in  their 
own  households  or  in  mission  employ,  hut  this 
method  soon  found  its  own  limitations.  Then, 
the  Industrial  School  was  opened  at  Sialkot,  to 
teach  the  native  converts  to  work.  At  first,  this 
method  seemed  to  be  successful.  A layman  was 
brought  from  America,  Mr.  James  W.  Gordon, 
to  superintend  this  work.  Family  soap,  saddle 
soap,  spirits  of  turpentine,  rosin,  mould-candles 
and  purified  lamp-oil  were  manufactured.  The 
Report  of  1866  said  of  the  institution: 

“The  school  has  prospered  beyond  our  expec- 
tations. . . . It  is  no  longer  an  experi- 
ment.” The  Report  of  1867  said,  “ Eighteen 
men  have  been  employed  during  the  past  year, 
of  whom  nine  were  Christians,  eight  inquirers, 
and  one  a pretending  inquirer.  There  is  a gen- 
eral willingness  to  work.  . . . As  it  (the 

school)  has  grown  from  an  acorn  to  a compara- 
tively strong  oak  in  the  first  seven  years,  we 
cannot  say  what  strength  it  may  attain  in  the 
next  seven,  nor  how  much  good  may  result  from 
it.”  Yet  in  the  Report  of  1872  we  read,  “ So 
far  as  the  support  of  native  Christians  is  con- 
cerned, the  Industrial  School  has  utterly  failed ; 
and  in  one  point  especially,  where  it  should 
have  done  the  most, — the  training  of  orphan 
hoys, — it  has  not  been  of  the  slightest  assis- 
tance.” So  the  school  was  discontinued.  It 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  205 


would  not  be  a fair  inference  to  say,  that  the 
experiment  decided  the  general  question  of  in- 
dustrial schools,  for  other  missions  have  found 
this  method  most  successful,  and  the  India  Mis- 
sion to-day  is  operating  industrial  schools  suc- 
cessfully. 

Another  method  followed  was  the  rental,  at 
Zafarwal,  in  1867,  of  two  hundred  acres  of 
land,  and  then  its  sub-rental,  during  subsequent 
years,  to  native  converts  or  inquirers  of  the 
farming  class,  whose  landlords  had  ejected  them 
because  of  their  interest  in  Christianity.  This 
plan  was  launched  during  the  days  of  religious 
interest  among  the  Megs  and  seems  to  have  af- 
forded relief  to  a few.  Yet  the  Report  of  1875 
says : “As  far  as  we  can  see  at  present  no  bene- 
fit will  be  gained  by  continuing  the  arrange- 
ment. ...  As  far  as  our  experience  and 
observation  go,  efforts  at  colonizing  native 
Christians,  of  separating  them  from  others, 
have  failed.”  So  this  plan  was  also  abandoned. 
Even  the  Girls’  Orphanage  at  Sialkot  was  closed 
in  1871 ; the  reason  here,  however,  was  that  the 
country,  having  been  spared  from  famine  ex- 
perience, enjoyed  such  material  prosperity  that 
few  children  were  cast  off  by  their  parents,  and 
there  was  no  real  need  for  this  institution. 

The  Mission  was  also  making  trial  of  the 
school  for  non-Christians.  One  had  been  taken 


mission 

Farm 


206  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Schools 
for  non- 
Christians 


over  at  Sialkot,  and  although  closed  for  lack  of 
funds  in  1867,  it  was  reopened  two  years  later. 
Its  enrolment  stood  between  200  and  300.  In 
1868,  a similar  school  for  boys  was  opened  at 
Gujranwala,  and  here  the  enrolment  the  very 
next  year  was  350,  while  at  the  end  of  the 
period  there  were  900  enrolled.  It  was  pos- 
sible, in  these  early  days,  before  Government 
supervision  had  gained  the  dominating  in- 
fluence which  it  possesses  to-day,  to  surround 
these  schools  with  a strong  Christian  missionary 
atmosphere.  Instruction  in  Christian  truth  was 
given  every  day,  and,  at  Sialkot,  every  boy  was 
required  to  attend  the  Sabbath  service.  It  was 
the  Mission’s  insistence  upon  this  last  require- 
ment that  prevented  the  union  of  their  school 
with  that  of  the  Scotch  Mission  in  1875.  The 
aims  were  highly  evangelistic:  “If  we  are 
properly  supplied  with  men  and  means,”  wrote 
Mr.  Barr  from  Gujranwala  in  1875,  “ we  hope 
at  no  distant  day  to  gain  complete  control  of 
education  in  the  city,  and  leaven  the  teaching, 
which  is  now  practically  infidel,  with  the  truths 
of  God’s  holy  Word.”  To  this  end,  we  find  the 
amount  of  vernacular  teaching  reduced  and  that 
of  English  increased,  because  they  could  not 
secure  adequate  vernacular  literature  which  was 
true  in  religion  and  pure  in  morals.  “This  ar- 
rangement,” wrote  the  missionaries, “ does  not 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  207 


meet  with  the  approval  of  the  educational  au- 
thorities in  the  Punjab;  but  what  of  that,  when 
we  feel  we  are  thus  more  effectually  enlighten- 
ing the  minds  of  our  pupils,  and  leading  them 
to  Christ.” 

These  schools  seem  to  have  justified  them- 
selves as  missionary  agencies,  for  we  read  of  the 
Gujranwala  school  in  1875,  “ If  the  religious 
inquiry  existed  in  any  school  in  America  that 
is  showing  itself  in  the  Gujranwala  mission 
school  at  present,  it  would  be  called  a revival. 
We  have  never  seen  anything  like  it  in  the 
school  before.  We  have  no  doubt  that  if  it  were 
not  for  the  persecutions  the  boys  would  have  to 
meet,  and  the  sacrifices  they  would  have  to 
make,  one-third  of  all  in  the  school  would  pub- 
licly profess  Christianity.”  The  next  year  the 
school  was  able  to  see  the  first  fruits  of  its  labors 
in  definite  conversions  and  professions.  Two 
high  caste  boys  were  baptized.  One  of  the  boys 
lived  in  the  city.  The  opposition  which  he  had 
to  face  might  well  explain  why  many  open  pro- 
fessions could  not  be  expected  at  the  school  age. 
The  parents  of  the  boy  “created  great  excite- 
ment by  their  lamentations.  Followed  by  a 
great  crowd,  they  came  running  with  loud  cries 
to  the  mission  premises,  in  search  of  the  boy. 
When  he  went  home  he  was  beset  on  all  sides, 
and  entreated  to  renounce  his  profession.  When 


208  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Secret 

Disciples 


New 

Stations 


he  would  not,  he  was  renounced  by  father, 
mother  and  wife,*  and  driven  from  his  home.” 
Would  many  school  boys  in  America  confess 
Christ  at  such  a cost  ? 

With  the  girls,  open  profession  of  Christ  was 
still  more  difficult — indeed,  impossible.  Yet-, 
that  there  were  real  conversions,  may  well  be  -* 
believed.  In  1876,  for  example,  the  case  of  a 
Hindu  woman  is  cited.  She  had  gained  a 
knowledge  of  Christian  truth  in  the  school. 
After  her  marriage  she  took  her  Testament  with 
her  to  her  new  home,  and  read  it  to  the  heathen 
neighbors.  Her  own  Hindu  mother’s  account 
testified  to  her  Christian  faith  at  her  death, 
which  followed  soon  after.  Seeing  her  mother 
weeping,  she  said,  “Do  not  weep  for  me ; look 
at  me,  I am  not  weeping;  I am  happy.  All 
that  has  been  taught  me  about  Jesus,  the  Saviour 
of  sinners,  comes  to  mind  now,  and  I believe  it 
all.”  If,  in  a sense,  the  educational  work  of 
this  period  was  on  trial,  it  vindicated  itself 
and  contributed  to  the  Mission’s  triumph. 

But  the  Mission  had  undeniable  triumph  in 
other  directions  also.  The  opening  of  new  main 
stations  may  be  mentioned  here.  Sialkot, 
opened  in  1855,  and  Gujranwala,  in  1863,  be- 
longed to  the  record  of  the  first  decade  of  mis- 


* Marriage  is  at  a very  early  age  in  India. 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  209 


sionary  work;  but  in  1872,  of  this  period,  the 
Rev.  Andrew  Gordon  was  sent  to  Gurdaspur, 
which  had  been  already  visited  on  itinerating 
trips;  and  in  1876  the  Rev.  T.  L.  Scott  opened 
up  Jhelum  as  a main  station ; while  still  later, 
in  1880,  Zafarwal,  which  had  long  been  visited 
on  itinerating  tours,  was  formally  occupied  as 
a main  station  by  the  Rev.  James  S.  Barr. 

It  will  not  be  possible  to  follow  the  move- 
ments of  individual  missionaries  in  so  concise 
a history  as  this,  but  those  of  this  early  period 
may  well  be  named.  The  period  opened  with 
only  the  Rev.  James  S.  Barr  and  wife  on  the 
field.  In  1866  Miss  Elizabeth  G.  Gordon  re- 
turned to  India.  Newly  appointed  missionaries 
reached  India  as  follows:  Mr.  James  W.  Gor- 
don, the  industrial  superintendent,  and  his  wife, 
in  1866;  the  Rev.  Samuel  Martin  and  wife,  in 
1867 ; Miss  M.  E.  Welsh  (who  only  remained 
until  1872),  and  Miss  Eliza  Calhoun,  in  1870; 
the  Rev.  J.  P.  McKee  and  wife,  in  1871;  the 
Rev.  T.  L.  Scott  and  wife,  in  1874;  Miss 
Elizabeth  McCahon  and  Miss  Cynthia  E.  Wil- 
son, in  1875;  and  Miss  Rosanna  A.  McCul- 
lough, in  1880.* 

Two  religious  movements  belong  in  large  part 


* The  dates  given  are  those  of  arrival  on  the  field,  not  of 
appointment  in  America. 

14 


New 

Mission. 

ariea 


210  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The  Meg 
Movement. 


to  this  period  of  the  Mission’s  history,  and  call 
for  more  extended  notice.  There  was  trial  and 
triumph  enough  connected  with  both  move- 
ments, although  triumph  outweighed  trial.  One 
movement  was  the  awakening  among  the  Megs; 
the  other  was  the  Chuhra  movement. 

The  Meg  Awakening 

“In  the  northeastern  part  of  Sialkot  civil  dis- 
trict and  the  northwestern  part  of  Gurdaspur, 
there  is  a tribe  of  Hindu  people  called  Megs. 
Their  ancestral  occupation  is  weaving,  but,  ow- 
ing to  the  importation  of  foreign  cotton  goods, 
their  trade  is  not  as  profitable  as  it  was  in  for- 
mer days,  and  they  are  now  largely  engaged  in 
farming.  They  are  physically  a fine  race — not 
generally  as  robust  as  some  of  the  other  Pun- 
jabi races,  but  well  formed — with  good,  regular 
features  and  generally  more  intelligent  than 
those  of  other  low  Hindu  tribes. 

“ Our  Mission  was  brought  into  contact  with 
them  in  the  early  days  of  its  history.  In  the 
village  of  Jandaran,  east  of  Sialkot  about 
twenty-four  miles,  many  of  them  had  become 
dissatisfied  with  their  religion  and  were  seeking 
for  something  better.  A traveling  fakir  stopped 
in  their  village  some  time,  pretending  to  teach 
them  how  to  find  God.  He  turned  out  to  be  a 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  211 


ghalab-dasi  (atheist),  and  after  some  time  they 
refused  to  retain  and  support  him  as  their  guru 
(religious  teacher).  Shortly  after  this,  in  185y, 
a Christian,  wandering  as  a fakir,  came  to  our 
Mission,  and,  being  given  some  support,  went 
out  preaching  Christ,  as  he  was  able.  His  name 
was  Joahir  Masih,  and  he  could  read.  In  his 
wanderings  he  came  to  this  village  and  found 
some  of  these  Megs  grinding  sugar  cane,  and 
as  is  the  custom  with  some  fakirs,  he  sat  down 
and  commenced  to  read  to  them  from  the  New 
Testament.  After  reading  a short  time  he  ex- 
plained what  he  had  been  reading  about  Christ. 
They  were  much  interested  and  invited  him  to 
stop  with  them  in  their  little  travelers’  rest- 
house.  They  kept  him  reading  and  teaching 
them  for  several  days.  He  reported  the  interest 
of  this  people  to  the  missionaries  and  they  soon 
visited  them.  They  were  kindly  received,  and 
at  one  visit  by  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Scott,  a native 
minister,  a wedding  was  in  progress  and  many 
hundreds  of  Megs  from  distant  villages  were 
there,  and  he  had  a good  opportunity  of  preach- 
ing Christ.  One  or  two  of  them  were  so  much 
interested  that  there  was  great  hope  of  their 
coming  out  and  confessing  Christ,  but  their 
tribal  timidity  hindered  them.  It  was  learned 
afterward  that  one  of  them  (Pipo)  died  confess- 
ing Christ.  Several  years  passed  with  only  one 


212 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


or  two  visits,  but  none  of  them  came  out  on 
Christ’s  side.” 

We  now  pass  to  the  summer  of  1865.  Mr. 
Barr  was  the  only  missionary  on  the  field.  One 
day  there  came  to  his  door  a number  of  men. 
They  said  they  represented  the  Megs  of  Jan- 
daran.  They  made  known  the  object  of  their 
visit.  They  soon  showed  that  they  had  not 
come  on  a purely  religious  errand.  They  were 
being  oppressed  by  the  land  owners  of  their  pres- 
ent village,  and  as  weaving  was  not  a possible 
occupation  for  all  of  them,  they  wished  to  mi- 
grate. If  the  missionaries  would  assist  them 
in  getting  land,  they  would  place  themselves 
under  their  religious  instruction.  They  related 
how  Pipo,  who  had  heard  the  Gospel  from 
Joahir  Masih  and  Mr.  Scott  five  years  before 
this,  died  confessing  Christ  and  urging  all  his 
friends  to  go  to  the  missionaries  and  learn  of 
Him.  The  missionary  explained  to  them  that 
he  had  no  land  to  give  them,  but  that  he  would 
be  glad  to  help  them  in  any  way  he  could.  The 
whole  afternoon  was  then  spent  in  unfolding  to 
them  further  the  Gospel  which  their  relative, 
Pipo,  had  been  urging  upon  them.  After  they 
were  gone  it  was  arranged  that  the  native  min- 
ister, Mr.  Scott,  should  follow  them  up  and  do 
what  he  could  to  foster  their  slight  interest  in 
the  new  faith.  He  went  to  them  again  and 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  213 


again.  Meanwhile,  they  secured  land  from  a 
large  land  owner  of  Zafarwal,  and  a number 
of  them  removed  to  that  place.  As  a result  of 
Mr.  Scott’s  visit  and,  perhaps,  back  of  that,  of 
their  relative  Pipo,  two  of  these  Megs,  Kanaya 
and  Bhajna,  became  deeply  impressed.  They 
resolved  upon  an  open  profession  of  Christ. 
Slipping  away  from  a marriage  feast  at  which 
their  entire  family  connection  had  gathered, 
they  went  to  Sialkot  to  be  baptized  by  Mr. 
Scott.  Learning  where  they  had  gone,  a select 
force  was  sent  after  them.  The  Meg  delegation 
did  everything  to  win  them  back.  “At  first 
they  tried  to  reason  Kanaya  and  Bhajna  into 
returning.  Then  they  offered  to  give  them 
money.  Next  they  resorted  to  humble  entreaty, 
taking  off  their  own  turbans  and  casting  them 
down  at  their  feet,  falling  down  before  them 
in  a most  abject  manner.  Again,  they  appealed 
pathetically  to  their  love  of  home  and  friends: 
‘Your  gray-headed  father  and  mother,’  they 
said,  ‘are  now  weeping  for  you.  IIow  can  you 
break  their  hearts,  and  bring  them  down  to  the 
grave  with  sorrow  ? Your  families  are  desolate. 
How  can  you  thus  leave  them  to  go  to  destruc- 
tion V Finally,  they  burst  into  a furious  rage, 
and  were  restrained  only  by  fear  from  using 
violence. 

“Whilst  the  constancy  of  those  two  young 


214  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


disciples  was  being  put  to  this  severe  test, 
Brother  Scott  took  Clement  and  all  the  other 
Christians  into  a room  and  prayed  for  them. 
The  ordeal  to  which  the  faith  and  love  of  the 
converts  was  subjected  was  terribly  severe — too 
much  so  for  unaided  human  nature,  for  when 
they  were  told  that  their  old  gray-headed  par- 
ents were  weeping  and  sorrowing  after  them 
they  were  greatly  troubled.  But  the  Lord  stood 
by  them;  and  after  recovering  the  mastery  over 
their  feelings,  they  answered  frankly,  ‘If  we 
were  even  to  die  for  it,  we  will  not  leave  Christ ; 
and  we  desire  that  you  also  believe  on  Him ; for 
if  you  do  not,  you  cannot  be  saved.’ 

“After  a few  days  they  besought  Mr.  Scott 
to  administer  to  them  the  rite  of  baptism.  As 
long  as  a convert  neglects  or  postpones  this  or- 
dinance, the  heathen  count  him  as  belonging  to 
their  own  ranks.  It  matters  not  so  much  what 
he  may  say;  he  may  talk  and  preach  like  a 
Christian,  yet  as  long  as  he  does  not  publicly 
comply  with  Christ’s  command  by  receiving 
baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Ghost,  his  moral  inheritance  is  not  with 
Christ,  but  against  Him ; he  does  not  fully  con- 
fess Him  before  men ; he  does  not  bear  reproach 
nor  take  up  his  cross.  It  would  be  an  easy  mat- 
ter to  build  up  a large  Church  in  India  if  bap- 
tism were  treated  as  an  unnecessary  thing  (as 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  215 


has  sometimes  been  the  case),  but  such  a Church 
would  not  be  one  that  honestly  confessed  Christ, 
taking  up  his  cross  and  bearing  his  reproach. 
In  the  light  of  these  things  we  can  easily  under- 
stand the  importance  attached  to  baptism,  not 
only  by  missionaries,  but  by  all  true  converts. 

“A  convenient  day  in  November,  1866,  was 
set,  when  Kanaya,  Bhajna,  Abdullah  and  three 
others  were  formally  and  solemnly  received  into 
the  Church;  and  we  can  well  appreciate  their 
feelings  on  this  joyful  occasion,  as  expressed  by 
Bhajna,  who  had  loved  Jesus  for  seven  years. 
He  said : ‘The  great  desire  of  our  hearts  is  at 
last  fulfilled ; we  have  now  given  ourselves  up 
to  Jesus  Christ.’  ” 

The  subsequent  experiences  of  these  two  con- 
verts form  a story  of  wonderful  interest,  for 
which  there  is  not  room  here,  but  they  are  most 
interestingly  set  forth  in  more  than  one  hun- 
dred pages  of  Gordon’s  “Our  India  Mission.”* 

The  young  girl  to  whom  Bhajna  was  be- 
trothed, and  with  whom  he  was  deeply  in  love, 
was  kept  from  him,  and,  though  he  made  re- 
peated attempts  to  win  her,  he  lost  her  forever. 
Kanaya  was  a married  man  and  had  four  chib 
dren.  His  wife  and  all  the  children  were  care- 
fully guarded  by  the  non-Christian  Megs  to: 


A Day  of 
Kejoicing 


Persecution 


See  pages  231-378. 


216  PAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


prevent  his  gaining  possession  of  them.  Had 
his  wife  been  favorable  to  the  faith  her  husband 
had  embraced,  means  could  have  been  found  for 
reuniting  the  family,  but,  while  willing  to  re- 
ceive her  husband  back,  Kanaya’s  wife  had  not 
reached  the  point  where  she  was  ready  to  break 
with  all  her  relatives  and  confess  Christ.  Doubt- 
less she  cherished  the  hope  that  her  husband 
would  return  to  his  former  faith.  After  ex- 
hausting all  peaceable  means  of  gaining  posses- 
sion of  his  wife  and  children,  Kanaya  resolved 
to  try  legal  compulsion.  His  wife  had  secretly 
agreed  to  this  method  of  procedure,  as  it  would 
relieve  her  of  blame  for  leaving  her  relatives, 
and  yet  it  would  reunite  the  family.  The  legal 
decision  had  scarcely  been  rendered  in  favor  of 
Kanaya  when  the  non-Christian  Megs  spirited 
away  the  wife  and  children,  and  when  Kanaya 
went  to  his  former  home  to  claim  his  family 
only  a scene  of  desolation  and  an  empty  house 
greeted  him.  Months  passed  without  his  being 
able  to  locate  them.  At  last,  trace  of  them  was 
discovered.  They  were  in  Kashmir,  several 
days’  journey  away,  and  under  the  power  of  an 
independent  native  ruler.  How  Kanaya  took 
his  life  in  his  hand  and  visited  “the  Tiger’s 
Den,”  to  plead  for  the  restoration  of  his  wife 
and  children;  how  he  stood  before  kings  and 
judges  and  witnessed  a good  confession  for  his 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  217 


Lord ; how  he  failed  once  and  again,  hut  went 
armed  the  third  time  with  a hulcam  (order) 
from  the  British  government  in  India ; how  the 
promises  of  his  Lord  were  fulfilled  to  him,  and 
in  the  midst  of  great  straits  it  was  given  him 
what  he  should  say;  how  even  dreams,  disturb- 
ing his  persecutors,  caused  them  to  incline  fa- 
vorably to  his  request;  how  he  who  had  gone 
forth  alone  in  tears  came  back  rejoicing,  bring- 
ing his  long  lost  family  with  him,  arriving  at 
Scottgarh*  on  Sabbath,  just  as  the  morning  ser- 
vice was  closing ; and  how,  finally,  the  faith  of 
the  native  pastor,  which  had  claimed  this  vic- 
tory from  the  beginning,  and  never  faltered 
through  all  the  dark  days  of  delay,  was  able  to 
point  his  hearers  to  the  prayer-answering  God, 
as  the  Christians  broke  forth  in  shouts  of  “ They 
have  come!  They  have  come!  The  children 
and  Kanaya  have  come!” — all  this,  and  much 
more,  is  related  by  Dr.  Gordon  in  his  book. 

As  the  years  rolled  by,  many  other  Megs  ac- 
cepted ■ Christ  and  were  baptized.  The  enemy 
did  stir  up  continued  opposition.  “To  counter- 
act the  influence  of  Christianity.  The  non- 
Christian  Megs  sent  over  into  Kashmir  terri- 
tory for  a noted  guru  (religious  teacher),  among 
them,  and  had  meetings  whose  object  was  to 


Prayer 

Answered 


* Near  Zafarwal. 


218 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Beginning 
with  one 


enforce  a strict  adherence  to  their  Hindu  cus- 
toms. Yet,  with  all  their  efforts  and  all  their 
bitter  enmity,  they  could  not  hinder  God’s  work. 
From  time  to  time,  one  and  another  came  out 
on  Christ’s  side.” 

The  Meg  converts  were  organized  into  the 
Zafarwal  congregation  in  1879.  Kanaya  and 
Bhajna  were  chosen  and  ordained  its  first  eld- 
ers. 

The  Chuhra  Movement 

“In  a village  three  miles  southwest  of  Mi- 
rali,”  says  Dr.  Gordon,  in  describing  this  move- 
ment, “there  lived  a man  of  the  low  and  much 
despised  Chuhra  tribe,  by  name  Ditt,  a dark 
little  man,  lame  of  one  leg,  quiet  and  modest 
in  his  manner,  with  sincerity  and  earnestness 
well  expressed  in  his  face,  and  at  that  time 
about  thirty  years  of  age.  The  business  by 
which  he  earned  a scant  subsistence  for  himself 
and  family  was  the  buying  up  of  hides  in  the 
neighborhood  and  selling  them  at  a small  profit 
to  dealers.”  This  was  the  man  with  whom  the 
movement  began.  He  heard  the  Gospel  from 
a Christian  convert  of  much  higher  social  rank, 
who,  in  many  respects,  was  a “weak  brother.” 
However,  the  latter  won  this  low  caste  man  and 
brought  him  to  Rev.  Samuel  Martin  for  bap- 
tism. The  unusual  feature  of  the  case  was  that 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  219 


here  was  a man  who  wished  to  be  baptized  a 
Christian  and  then  wanted  to  go  bach  to  live 
among  his  people.  The  missionaries  had  met 
with  the  opposite  course  so  long  that  some  had 
come  to  think  that  it  was  not  possible,  perhaps, 
for  a man  to  go  back  after  baptism  to  his  for- 
mer calling,  and  others  had  come  to  believe  that 
it  was  not  advisable  for  the  new  convert  to  leave 
until  he  had  received  some  extended  instruction. 
Here,  however,  was  a new  situation,  and  the 
outcome  was  that  the  man  was  baptized,  and, 
after  baptism,  returned  to  his  home. 

“Ditt  had  five  brothers,  who,  with  their 
families,  numbering  about  sixty  persons,  all 
lived  in  Mirali  and  adjacent  villages;  his  per- 
sonal acquaintance  also,  beyond  the  circle  of  his 
relatives,  being  numerous  in  that  region.  As 
he  went  about  among  them  from  village  to  vil- 
lage, while  attending  to  his  business,  he  not  only 
let  it  be  known  that  he  was  a Christian,  but  also 
invited  friends  and  neighbors  to  come  and  be- 
lieve with  him  upon  his  newly-found  Saviour. 

“His  own  relatives,  according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, were  first  and  fiercest  in  manifesting 
their  resentment.  Banding  against  him,  they 
held  indignation  meetings,  some  saying  iron- 
ically, 1 Oh,  ho ! you  have  become  a Sahib 
(gentleman)  ’ ; others,  ‘ You  have  become  a 
Be-iman  (one  without  religion).’  His  sister-in- 


Opposition 


220  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The  Leaven 
Works 


law  assailed  him-  with,  ‘Alas,  my  brother,  yon 
have  changed  your  religion  without  even  asking 
our  counsel ; our  relationship  with  you  is  at  an 
end.  Henceforth  you  shall  neither  eat,  drink, 
nor  in  any  way  associate  with  us.  One  of  your 
legs  is  broken  already;  so  may  it  be  with  the 
other.’ 

“To  these  jeers  and  reproaches  showered 
upon  our  humble  convert  by  the  whole  circle  of 
his  relatives,  he  meekly  but  stoutly  replied, 
‘Very  well,  my  brethren;  if  it  pleases  you,  you 
may  oppose  me  and  load  me  with  reproaches 
and  abuse;  but  your  opposition  will  never  in- 
duce me  to  deny  Christ.’ 

“In  August,  1873,  some  three  months  after 
Ditt  had  made  a public  confession  of  his  faith, 
he  enjoyed  the  great  pleasure  of  seeing  his  wife 
and  daughter,  and  two  of  his  near  neighbors, 
turn,  on  his  invitation,  to  Jesus  as  their  only 
Saviour;  and  after  instructing  them  to  the  ex- 
tent of  his  ability,  he,  notwithstanding  his  lame- 
ness, joyously  accompanied  them  on  foot  to  Sial- 
kot,  a distance  of  full  thirty  miles,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  introducing  them  to  the  missionaries. 
Mr.  Martin,  after  satisfying  himself  as  to  their 
knowledge  of  Christ,  their  faith  in  Him  as  their 
Saviour,  and  their  purpose  to  obey  His  com- 
mands, baptized  them,  after  which,  following 


Congregation  of  Village  Christians 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  221 


the  example  of  Ditt,  they  immediately  returned 
to  their  village  homes. 

“In  February,  1874,  this  diligent  and  success- 
ful evangelist,  by  no  means  limiting  his  labors 
to  his  kindred,  but  widely  extending  his  in- 
fluence, escorted  to  Sialkot  as  trophies  four  more 
men  from  his  neighborhood,  who,  in  like  man- 
ner, being  received  into  the  Church,  returned 
immediately  to  their  villages.  One  of  these, 
Kaka  by  name,  a resident  of  Mirali,  and  the 
first  male  convert  from  among  Ditt’s  own  rela- 
tives, heartily  joined  his  active  friend  in  aggres- 
sive work,  publishing  among  his  idolatrous 
neighbors  the  glad  tidings  of  a Saviour  for  lost 
sinners. 

“From  this  small  beginning  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Mirali,  in  1873-74,  and  from  like  be- 
ginnings elsewhere,  which  remain  yet  to  be  de- 
scribed, the  glorious  Gospel  spread  steadily 
from  house  to  house  and  from  village  to  village, 
new  converts  as  they  joined  the  Christian  ranks 
uniting  with  the  old  in  telling  the  glad  tidings 
of  a Saviour  of  sinners,  Friend  of  the  poor,  and 
inviting  their  heathen  neighbors  to  ‘come/  until 
the  movement  embraced  within  its  benign  and 
saving  influence  scores  of  villages  and  hundreds 
of  families.” 

Having  presented  this  account  by  Dr.  Gordon 
of  the  beginnings  of  the  Chuhra  movement,  we 


The  Circle 
Widens 


222  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Quarter- 
<_  cutennial 
Yuar 


leave  it  to  another  period  of  the  Mission’s  his- 
tory to  reveal  the  extent  to  which  this  movement 
grew. 

Viewing  the  development  of  the  Mission  from 
the  vantage  point  of  its  Quarter-Centennial  An- 
niversary, what  do  we  find : 

Five  main  stations  occupied — Sialkot,  Guj- 
ranwala,  Gurdaspur,  Jhelum,  and  Zafarwal. 

A force  of  five  American  ordained  mission- 
aries and  their  wives,  together  with  four  un- 
married women  missionaries. 

Two  native  ordained  ministers,  and  six  reg- 
ularly organized  congregations — Sialkot,  Guj- 
ranwala,  Pathankot,  Gurdaspur,  Pasrur  and 
Zafarwal. 

A native  Church  membership  of  337,  of 
whom  44  were  added  on  profession  of  faith 
that  year.  If  the  contributions  of  this  Church, 
259  rupees  (about  $130  then)  seem  small, 
we  may  quote  the  brave  and  true  defense  of 
one  of  the  Mission’s  Reports,  “ Small,  seem- 
ingly, hut  did  the  Church  at  home  give  the  same 
proportion  of  her  means,  how  much  her  foreign 
laborers  would  rejoice!  Who  give  monthly  one- 
eighth  of  their  income  ? This  is  the  lowest  we 
receive  from  our  poor  Christians.” 

And  we  find  the  great  methods  of  Indian 
missionary  work  in  operation:  the  Literary, 
with  book  distribution  by  missionaries  and  na- 


THE  SIALKOT  MISSION  223 


tives,  and  with  the  first  controversial  writings 
of  that  gifted  native  preacher,  the  Rev.  George 
L.  Thakur  Das ; the  Evangelistic,  with  its 
bazaar  preaching,  its  itinerating,  its  congrega- 
tional services,  its  zenana  work ; the  Educa- 
tional, with  its  Theological  Seminary,  its  schools 
for  boys  and  for  girls,  for  Christians  and  for 
non-Christians,  with  an  aggregate  enrolment  of 
1,903  pupils ; even  the  Medical  method  has  at 
last  put  in  an  appearance  in  the  form  of  a 
Zenana  Hospital,  established  as  an  experiment 
by  Mrs.  S.  E.  Johnson  and  Miss  E.  Gordon,  in 
1880. 

If  the  pathway  which  leads  up  to  this  Quar- 
ter Centennial  Anniversary  is  one  of  trial  and 
labor,  the  goal  reached  is  indeed  one  of  triumph 
and  success. 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK 


15 


“When  the  man  went  forth  eastward  with  the  line  in  his 
hand,  he  measured  a thousand  cubits  and  he  caused  me  to  pass 
through  the  waters,  waters  that  were  to  the  ankles. 

“Again  he  measured  a thousand,  and  caused  me  to  pass 
through  the  waters,  waters  that  were  to  the  knees. 

“Again  he  measured  a thousand,  and  caused  me  to  pass 
through  the  waters,  waters  that  were  to  the  loins. 

“ Afterward  he  measured  a thousand  ; and  it  was  a river  that 
I could  not  pass  through  ; for  the  waters  were  risen,  waters  to 
swim  in,  a river  that  could  not  be  passed  through.” — Ezekiel's 
Vision  of  the  Healing  Waters  from  the  Temple. 


VII 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK 

THE  Quarter-Centennial  Anniversary 
of  the  Mission’s  establishment  marks 
the  end  of  the  last  chapter’s  survey. 
It  falls  to  this  chapter  to  sketch,  in  outline  at 
least,  the  Mission’s  development  up  to  the 
present  time.  In  considering  the  history  of  this 
extended  period,  it  will  be  an  aid  to  memory 
at  least,  and  probably  will  give  clearness  to  the 
picture,  if  we  divide  these  twenty-nine  years  of 
history  into  three  periods.  The  first  will  be  a 
Period  of  Great  Accessions. 

PERIOD  OF  GREAT  ACCESSIONS  (1881-1893) 

If  the  native  Church  membership  was  1373 
at  the  beginning  of  this  period,  it  had  advanced 
to  8033  by  the  close  of  1893, — a growth  of  585 
per  cent,  during  thirteen  years,  while  the  num- 
ber of  accessions  in  a single  year  (1886) 
reached  1934,  and  twice,  during  this  period,  the 
227 


Period  ot 

Great 

Accessions 


228 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The  tow 

Caste 

Movement 


accessions  of  a single  year  exceeded  the  total 
membership  of  the  Chnrch  at  the  beginning  of 
the  period.  The  period  could  well  be  described, 
therefore,  as  one  of  great  accessions. 

These  accessions,  however,  were  for  the  most 
part  from  the  low  caste,  or  out-caste,  Chuhras; 
and  the  entire  movement  precipitated  great  de- 
bate and  discussion  in  this  mission,  as  it  did 
also  in  other  missions  in  India.  On  the  one 
hand,  there  were  some,  in  other  missions,  who 
were  opposed  to  baptizing  Chuhra  inquirers, 
doubting  the  sincerity  of  their  motives  and 
questioning  their  fitness.  Since  it  was  to  a 
great  extent  true  that,  these  low  caste  people 
were  gainers,  socially  and  otherwise,  by  be- 
coming Christians,  it  was  practically  im- 
possible to  prove,  to  the  satisfaction  of 
those  who  raised  such  objections,  that  the 
motive  of  the  Chuhras  in  seeking  to  be  bap- 
tized was  a sincere  desire  for  the  Gospel,  in- 
stead of  a mere  desire  for  the  temporal  bless- 
ings which  the  Gospel  brought  to  them. 
Furthermore,  it  was  equally  impossible  in  the 
very  nature  of  the  case  to  satisfy  the  objection 
made  to  the  Chuhras  on  grounds  of  intellectual 
unfitness.  So  enslaved  were  they  to  their  In- 
dian masters,  that  it  was  only  for  a little  time, 
at  the  meal  hours  or  after  dark,  that  they  could 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  229 


give  themselves  to  the  instruction  of  the  Chris- 
tian teacher,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
movement  was  so  wide-spread  that  no  mission 
had  available  a force  large  enough  to  impart 
to  these  low  caste  inquirers  any  instruction,  save 
the  most  elementary. 

At  the  opposite  extreme  were  a few  foreign, 
but  a large  number  of  native  workers,  who  were 
inclined  to  wholesale  baptisms  with  no  adequate 
discrimination  or  examination. 

It  was  a trying  problem.  “ It  is  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,”  wrote  one  missionary,  in  a 
printed  Report,  “ to  bring  a people  into  the 
Church  with  such  degrading  and  filthy  habits 
as  these  people  have.  We  feel  that  this  sounds 
somewhat  like  the  old  Pharisee,  but  we  cannot 
help  the  sound ; the  facts  are  different.  These 
people  eat  carrion  like  vultures,  and  the  rest 
of  their  habits  correspond  with  this.  It  might 
be  thought  that  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to 
make  them  stop  the  practice,  but  we  have  tried 
it  and  find  that  it  is  not.  It  is  just  as  easy  to 
make  a confirmed  drunkard  give  up  his  wine. 
. . . The  above,  while  they  are  reasons  for 

more  work  among  this  class,  are  also  reasons,  we 
think,  for  keeping  them  out  of  the  Church,  ex- 
cept on  clear  evidence  of  their  conversion  and 
ability  to  resist  their  degrading  appetites.” 


Power  of 
Gospel 


230  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 

That  some  mistakes  were  made,  especially  by 
native  workers,  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  the 
Mission  subsequently  authorized  a distinction 
between  communicants,  and  baptized  adult  mem- 
bers, and  put  into  the  latter  group  some  whose 
conduct  and  religious  knowledge  were  regarded 
as  deficient.*  One  missionary,  writing  of  some 
of  the  latter  class  in  his  district,  went  so  far  as 
to  say,  “ They  are  still  in  the  practice  of  their 
heathenish  rites.  There  is  just  the  same  hope 
for  them  as  for  any  other  heathen,  except  that 
they  have,  as  they  think,  tried  Christianity  and 
are  not  satisfied.  They  are  not  Christians  and 
never  were.” 

The  great  body  of  converts,  however,  dis- 
played the  grace  of  God  to  a wonderful  degree. 
In  one  place,  as  one,  converted  from  this  low 
caste,  was  preaching  on  the  street,  the  Sirdar 
(head  man)  of  the  place  saw  him  and  said  to 
his  companion,  “ There  is  a power  in  the  Gos- 
pel, whether  we  can  see  it  or  not;  there  is  the 
living  proof  of  it  before  us.  That  man  who  is 
standing  there  was,  not  two  years  ago,  sweeping 
our  streets,  and  to  have  even  touched  him  was 


* In  many  cases,  however,  those  listed  as  baptized  adults  were 
fully  qualified,  but  had  had  no  opportunity  to  commune. 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  231 


both  religious  and  social  pollution,  and  he  was 
as  ignorant  as  the  donkey  which  carried  away 
the  filth  he  collected ; but  now,  by  the  power  of 
the  Gospel,  he  is  a public  teacher  on  our  streets, 
preaching  to  the  people.” 

As  the  years  went  by,  it  became  clearer  and 
clearer  that  the  religious  awakening  among  the 
Chuhras  was  God’s  way  of  using  “ the  weak 
things  of  the  world  that  He  might  put  to  shame 
the  things  that  are  strong.”  Toward  the  close 
of  this  period,  at  a communion  service  in  which 
he  had  been  assisting  the  foreign  missionary  in 
ministering  to  converts  of  this  despised  class,  a 
native  preacher  remarked  to  the  missionary.  “We 
were  often  indeed  troubled  in  regard  to  these 
people  and  had  many  doubts  in  regard  to  them, 
and  even  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  we  feared 
that  the  plant  set  out  here  was  not  of  the  Lord’s 
planting,  but  now  we  see  and  rejoice  that  we 
were  wrong  and  we  bless  God  for  what  He  has 
done  and  is  still  doing  for  His  people.”  This 
expresses  the  most  settled  judgment  of  the  Mis- 
sion in  regard  to  this  mass  movement  of  the 
Chuhras  toward  Christianity. 

The  great  accessions  of  this  period  laid  a 
burden  of  supervision  upon  the  missionaries 
which  can  scarcely  be  realized.  At  the  begin- 


Burden  of 
Supersti- 
tion 


232  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


ning  of  the  period  there  were  22  main  and  sub- 
stations to  be  visited,  while  at  its  close  there 
were  67  stations  with  a total  of  545  villages,  in 
which  there  were  Christians,  to  be  visited.  It- 
inerating became  more  prominent  than  ever, 
and  more  systematic.  And  such  itinerating  was 
done  by  unmarried  women  missionaries  as  well 
as  by  men,  for  the  women  converts  needed  in- 
struction in  righteousness  even  more  than  did 
the  men.  The  new  situation  also  called  for 
some  form  of  organization  which  might  take 
the  place  of  Church  organization  where  the  lat- 
ter did  not  exist.  Following  an  Indian  custom  of 
village  rule,  the  Mission  instituted  panchayats, 
or  local  ruling  committees,  to  oversee  the  con- 
duct and  life  of  Church  members.  Of  these 
committees,  one  missionary  wrote,  “ The 
panchayat  practically  constitutes  a session  ex- 
ercising sessional  powers,  and  we  hope,  when 
the  time  comes  for  the  organization  of  congre- 
gations, that  the  panchayats  will  be  fully  quali- 
fied for  the  office  of  eldership.  In  one  village 
where  there  are  about  one  hundred  names  on  the 
roll,  only  twenty-five  were  admitted  by  the 
panchayat  to  the  Lord’s  table.  . In  another  of 
about  the  same  number,  only  sixteen,  and  in 
another  still,  only  one  man  was  allowed  to  com- 
mune. The  ground  of  this  action  was  a quarrel, 
in  which  all  were  more  or  less  concerned.” 


Missionary  itinerating 

District  missionaries  spend  the  winter  months  in  camp, 
touring  among  the  villages,  teaching  the  Chris- 
tians and  preaching  to  non-Christians. 


Pasrur  Workers  at  Dinner 

Each  month  the  preachers  and  teachers  of  the  district  come  in  for  their  salaries  and 
for  a day  of  prayer  and  conference.  Some  walk  as  far  as  twenty  miles. 

On  this  day  they  are  the  guests  of  the  missionary  in  charge. 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  233 


It  was  during  this  period  also  that  the  Sum- 
mer School  became  a recognized  and  effective 
missionary  agency. 

If  the  large  accessions  from  Chuhra  ranks  oc- 
cupied so  large  a part  of  the  Mission’s  time 
and  attention,  it  must  not  be  thought  that  work 
in  other  directions  was  neglected.  On  the  con- 
trary, successes  in  one  department  tended  to 
quicken  activity  in  other  departments,  either 
through  rivalry  or  because  of  the  inter-relation 
of  the  different  departments. 

The  need  for  trained  native  Christian  work- 
ers became  emphasized  as  never  before.  Sev- 
eral institutions  were  developed  or  enlarged 
with  the  hope  of  meeting  this  need.  One  which 
has  held  a large  place  in  the  life  and  work  of 
the  Mission  ever  since,  was  the  Christian  Train- 
ing Institute  for  boys.  It  was  first  organized 
in  1881,  but  the  next  year  it  was  really  estab- 
lished on  its  present  location  by  the  purchase 
and  use  of  the  house  and  grounds  which  had 
belonged,  in  the  days  of  the  Mutiny,  to  the 
Deputy-Commissioner.*  In  1887,  the  pres- 
ent large  main  building  was  erected.  The 
curriculum  of  this  School  would  about  cor- 
respond to  what  we  would  call  a college  pre- 
paratory school.  During  the  period  with  which 


Trained 

Workers 


*See  map  on  p.  192. 


234  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


New 

!)evelop» 

likeuts 


we  are  dealing,  this  School  contributed  some 
sixty-eight  workers  to  the  service  of  the  Mis- 
sion. 

A similar  institution,  though  for  girls,  was 
the  Girls’  Boarding  School,  started  in  1879  as 
a Girls’  Orphanage,  but  enlarged  to  a general 
boarding  school  two  years  later.  Its  curricu- 
lum was  necessarily  made  more  elementary,  as 
the  education  of  girls  was  still  a new  thing. 
The  aim  was  to  train  up  those  who  would  be- 
come Christian  workers  among  women,  or  who 
might,  in  marrying,  lay  the  foundation  for  a 
Christian  home  life  in  India. 

The  Theological  Seminary,  established  in 
1877,  and  which  had  already  given  training 
to  some  of  the  strongest  men  in  the  native 
ministry  of  to-day,  took  more  definite  form 
during  this  period,  as  the  Mission  allowed  it 
to  engage  for  the  first  time  the  full  time  of  a 
missionary.  Dr.  Robert  Stewart  took  up  in 
1882,  in  a most  painstaking  way,  the  laborious 
task  of  working  out  a theological  curriculum 
and  an  equipment  of  text  books  suited  to  the 
theological  training  of  young  men  who  were  to 
become  leaders  in  the  native  Church  in  India. 

Among  the  new  developments  of  this  period, 
two  are  to  be  noted  especially.  One  was  the 
opening  up  of  medical  work.  In  the  closing 
year  of  the  former  period,  the  informal  medical 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  235 


work  of  the  Zenana  Hospital  was  noted.  In 
1886,  however,  Dr.  Maria  White,  the  first  reg- 
ular medical  missionary  of  the  Mission,  reached 
India  and  a hospital  was  opened  by  her  in 
Sialkot  in  1888.  Before  the  period  closes  we 
find  the  work  at  Sialkot  touching  17,833  lives, 
while  Dr.  Sophia  E.  Johnson  is  carrying  on  a 
parallel  work  at  Jhelum  which  ministers  to 
14,712  patients. 

The  other  important  development  was  the 
transfer  in  1891  of  the  Rawal  Pindi  district 
from  the  Presbyterian  to  the  United  Presby- 
terian Mission.  This  is  another  signal  example 
of  the  friendly  relations  between  different  de- 
nominations on  the  foreign  field.  This  field 
had  been  occupied  by  the  American  Presby- 
terians since  1856,  and  they  now  had  at  that 
station  three  mission  residences,  several  school 
buildings,  a church  and  several  other  small 
pieces  of  property,  also  an  organized  congre- 
gation with  twenty-four  members.  All  of  this 
was  transferred  (with  but  a nominal  charge 
of  $10,000  for  the  property),  simply  because 
it  was  seen  that  the  United  Presbyterian  Mis- 
sion was  located  in  a more  advantageous  posi- 
tion for  carrying  on  this  work,  than  was  the 
Presbyterian  Mission,  located  farther  south. 
The  effect  was  to  increase  the  United  Presby- 
terian mission  field  by  about  4,850  square  miles 


Transfer  of 

Rawal 

Find! 


236  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


General 
Survey  of 

Growth 


with  a population,  at  that  time,  of  about  886,- 
164  souls,  of  whom  70,000  were  in  the  city 
of  Rawal  Pindi  itself.  Important  adjustments 
of  boundary  lines  of  mission  fields  were  made 
also  during  this  period  by  conference  with  the 
Scotch  Mission  and  that  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

Comparing  the  condition  of  the  Mission 
at  the  close  of  this  period  with  that  at  the 
beginning,  how  remarkable  is  the  growth ! Mis- 
sion districts  have  grown  from  four  to  ten; 
where  there  were  five  ordained  American  mis- 
sionaries, there  are  now  twelve ; instead  of  five 
unmarried  women  missionaries,  we  find  twelve, 
two  of  whom  are  medical  missionaries;  the  six 
organized  congregations  have  increased  to 
eleven ; instead  of  but  two  native  ordained  min- 
isters, there  are  now  seven ; the  native  mem- 
bership has  advanced  from  337  to  6,960; 
during  this  period,  also,  the  chief  center  of 
Church  membership  shifts  from  Zafarwal  to 
the  Pasrur  and  East  Gujranwala  districts;  the 
native  Church,  so  long  organized  as  a single 
presbytery — the  Presbytery  of  Sialkot — was  or- 
ganized, November  7,  1893,  into  the  Synod  of 
the  Punjab,  comprising  three  presbyteries,  the 
Presbyteries  of  Sialkot,  of  Gujranwala  and  of 
Gurdaspur;  where  there  were  but  74  schools, 
with  2,970  pupils  enrolled  in  1881,  there  are 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  237 


now  147  schools  and  5,860  pupils;  and  while 
the  contributions  of  the  native  Church  have 
advanced  from  $259  to  $417,  yet  more  sig- 
nificant is  the  fact  that  the  Mission  has 
just  recently  turned  its  attention  to  this  im- 
portant matter  of  liberality  and  self  sup- 
port, and,  before  another  period  has  passed, 
remarkable  fruitage  will  appear.  During  this 
period,  Reading  Rooms,  Summer  Schools,  Hos- 
pitals and  Dispensaries,  all  appear  among  the 
new  methods  of  work  developed  by  the  mission- 
aries. 

YEARS  OF  ADJUSTMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT 

(1894-1898) 

As  the  Mission  reports  at  the  close  of  this 
period  a Church  membership  of  only  5,973  0P“ 
(counting  both  communicants  and  baptized 
adults),  as  against  6,960  reported  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  period,  several  inquiries  will  nat- 
urally be  raised.  Did  the  hopeful  work  of  the 
former  period  stop  suddenly  ? Were  there  no 
more  accessions  ? The  answer  is,  No,  for  acces- 
sions on  confession  of  faith  continued  to  be 
large:  487 — 564 — 698 — 349 — 85  for  the  five 
years  of  this  period.  Was  there,  then,  some 
great  epidemic  which  swept  over  the  country, 
ravaging  the  Church  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the 


238  EAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Coloniza- 
tion and 
Missionary 
Problems 


population?  Neither  is  the  explanation  to  be 
found  here. 

The  explanation  is  to  he  found  in  two  direc- 
tions. On  the  one  hand,  this  period  was  one 
of  purging  the  Church  roll  and  of  striking  off 
the  names  of  all  such  as,  after  warning  and 
instruction,  failed  to  reveal  a genuine  alle- 
giance to  the  Gospel  unto  which  they  had  been 
baptized.  Some,  in  the  midst  of  the  years  of 
great  accessions,  had  anticipated  just  such  an 
experience.  In  1887,  Dr.  James  S.  Barr  had 
written,  “ I feel  that  we  have  a trying  and  diffi- 
cult work  before  us,  and  we  may  have  a time 
of  declension.  The  point  will  be  to  carry  these 
Christians  safely  over  the  next  few  years. 

. . . Build  up  these  Christians  in  the  faith ; 

use  every  means  to  instruct  them  that  our  Mas- 
ter has  put  in  our  power;  and  then,  in  coming 
years,  gather  all  this  accumulated  power,  and 
in  Christ’s  name  move  on  the  enemy.” 

Yet  the  chief  explanation  for  the  shrinkage 
in  the  Church  membership  lay  in  another  direc- 
tion altogether : This  was  the  period  of  coloni- 
zation. The  Chenab  Canal,*  the  greatest  irri- 
gation canal  in  the  world,  was  begun  in  1892. 
This  canal  struck  through  the  very  heart  of 
the  Mission’s  district,  and  thousands,  among 


♦See  description  on  p.  34. 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  239 


them  many  Christians,  left  their  villages  to 
work  in  government  employ,  digging  these  irri- 
gation works.  The  canal  was  in  practical  oper- 
ation in  1897,  and  hundreds  more  left  their 
homes  permanently  to  settle  upon  the  newly 
opened  territory  irrigated  by  this  canal.  When 
we  recall  that  about  one  million  people  moved 
into  this  Chenab  Canal  region,  it  may  be  imag- 
ined that  among  these  were  many  Christians. 
The  testimony  of  one  missionary  will  suffice ; 
writing  in  1894,  he  said,  “ I find  a great  reduc- 
tion all  over  the  field.  The  canal  which  is  being 
constructed  by  the  government  is  drawing  great 
numbers.  Very  many  take  their  families  and 
move  there  because  they  can  earn  more  there 
than  in  their  own  villages.  In  several  places 
I have  found  all  the  Christians  gone  with 
their  families,  and  this  has  been  going  on  for 
two  years,  and  has  reduced  the  roll  very  much, 
all  at  once.”  How  vitally  the  Mission’s  work 
was  affected  by  this  movement  will  be  seen 
when  the  number  of  “ Removals,”  chiefly  due 
to  it,  are  pointed  out.  They  are  high  for  each 
year  of  this  period:  1,021 — 810 — 935 — 1,201 
— 902 — a total  of  4,869.  It  is  true  that  many 
of  these  were  restored  in  later  years,  as  the  mis- 
sionary work  extended  into  the  new  territory, 
and  such  lapsed  members  were  once  more  dis- 
covered and  brought  into  touch  with  Gospel 


240  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


privileges;  but,  for  the  time,  they  seemed  to  be 
altogether  lost  to  the  Church.  Because  of  these 
experiences  and  the  way  in  which  they  affected 
the  Mission’s  work,  this  period  may  well  be 
characterized  as  one  of  adjustment, 
ment  **  But  it  was  also  a period  of  development.  As 

has  been  indicated,  the  accessions  during  this 
period  were  large,  in  spite  of  the  losses  which 
were  incurred.  And  they  might  have  been 
much  larger  still,  but,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
missionaries  were  now  proceeding  with  great 
caution,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  “ care  of 
the  churches  ” occupied  their  full  time.  Thus 
in  one  Report  we  read,  “ The  strength  of  our 
Mission  seems  to  be  spent  on  the  building  up 
of  the  Church,  not  so  much  in  numbers  as  in 
knowledge ; in  other  words,  work  among  non- 
Christians  takes  a second  place.”  And  else- 
where we  read,  “ In  one  village  I took  the 
names  of  twelve  families,  some  fifty  persons, 
old  and  young,  who  are  being  taught.  Several 
of  the  men  now  readily  recite  fifty  pages  of 
short  Bible  questions.  When  they  have  com- 
pleted the  part  of  the  question  book  relating 
to  the  New  Testament  and  have  a few  more 
pages  of  the  part  relating  to  the  Old  Testament, 
I have  promised  to  receive  them  into  full  mem- 
bership, if  there  be  no  other  hindrance.  It  will 
be  noted  that  these  people  have  already  declared 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  241 


their  faith  in  Christ  and  asked  to  be  baptized. 

This  is  the  general  custom  in  the  whole  Mis- 
sion, to  hold  back  candidates  for  baptism  for 
further  instruction.” 

Development  was  marked,  however,  in  two  seif-sup- 
other  directions,  Self-support  and  Spiritual  Re-  Kevivai 
vival.  The  first  was  greatly  advanced  by  the 
second,  although  even  at  the  close  of  the  former 
period,  education  along  this  line  had  been  taken 
up.  In  1889  that  clear-sighted  missionary, 
the  Rev.  J.  P.  McKee  had  called  attention  to 
the  need  for  the  development  of  this  grace  of 
giving:  “The  Christians  in  this  Province 
are  making  little  or  no  effort  to  make  the 
Church  self-sustaining.  There  is  not  one 
church  in  the  whole  Punjab  sustained  by  the 
Christians  of  the  country,  much  less  is  there  any 
effort  to  make  the  Church  self-propagating.  It 
is  a fact  that  when  these  Christians  were  Hin- 
dus, Mohammedans  and  Chuhras  they  supported 
their  own  religious  teachers.  How  is  it  that 
they  cannot  do  it  now  ? The  fact  that  they  do 
not  do  it  is  to  me  positive  proof  that  there  is 
something  wrong  that  requires  to  be  righted.” 

So  the  Mission  was  led  to  appoint  a special 
committee  upon  this  matter.  It  was  not  long 
before  the  fruit  of  this  education  and  agitation 
appeared.  In  1894,  the  Mission  Report  could 
say  of  this  subject  of  self-support,  “ This  might 
16 


242  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


almost  be  called  our  Mission’s  specialty;  in 
fact,  all  over  India  there  is  much  activity  along 
this  line.”  A considerable  number  began  to 
tithe.  In  one  district  native  contributions  ad- 
vanced 51  per  cent,  in  one  year.  Others  con- 
tributed liberally  to  erecting  church  buildings. 
A plan  was  “ adopted  in  some  places,  or  rather, 
borrowed  from  their  Hindu  neighbors,  of  mak- 
ing contributions  in  this  manner:  an  earthen 
vessel  is  kept  in  the  house ; when  they  commence 
their  daily  cooking  the  first  handful  of  meal 
is  put  into  it  as  an  offering.”  But  the  chief 
impulse  to  self-support  and  liberality  came  upon 
the  wave  of  a great  spiritual  experience  which 
has  been  called  the  Revival  of  1896.  The  ac- 
count of  that  revival  is  given  by  the  Rev.  D. 
S.  Lytle  in  the  Mission’s  Report  as  follows : 


The  Spiritual  Awakening 

In  giving  a report  of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  among  us 
during  the  year  1896,  we  wish  first  to  express  our  gratitude  to 
Almighty  God  for  the  manifest  answer  to  prayer.  Three  years 
before  our  annual  meeting  it  was  agreed  that  on  each  Sabbath 
evening  we  would  make  special  prayer  for  the  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  upon  us.  Our  native  brethren  and  the  Church  at  home 
were  also  asked  to  join  us  in  this  prayer.  We  and  our  native 
brethren  also  now  acknowledge  that  the  blessings  we  have  re- 
ceived have  been  in  answer  to  prayer.  This  work  began  early 
in  the  year,  and  with  such  energy  that  some  of  us  felt  that  it 
would  be  only  spasmodic ; but  it  continues  and  has  been  deepen- 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  243 


ing  and  widening.  The  first  marked  manifestation  of  this  power 
among  us,  was  the  meeting  of  the  Sialkot  Presbytery,  held  at 
Pasrur,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1896,  while  in  conference  on 
the  subject  “Our  Work  and  Its  Needs.”  This  was,  without 
doubt,  the  most  remarkable  Conference  in  the  history  of  the 
Presbytery.  The  special  Scripture  before  us  was,  the  Commis- 
sion and  the  Pentecostal  preparation,  Acts  the  first  and  second 
chapters.  When  it  was  thought  time  to  close  the  Conference, 
the  leader  in  his  closing  words  appealed  to  all  present  to  conse- 
crate themselves  now  and  wholly  to  the  Lord  and  to  his  service  ; 
and  spoke  of  the  willingness  of  God  to  give  the  blessing  that  will 
fit  us  for  the  work  whenever  we  are  willing  to  receive  it.  “We 
need  it  now,  why  not  accept  it  now,  while  it  is  waiting  for 
us.”  Then  occurred  the  first  remarkable  incident  we  have  to 
relate.  Some  fell  on  their  faces  and  wept  aloud.  There  were 
deep  heart  feelings  and  strong  crying  to  God,  followed  by  most 
earnest  prayers  ; prayer  followed  prayer  in  most  rapid  succession. 
At  a late  hour  the  leader  with  great  difficulty  interrupted  these 
prayers  and  closed  the  meeting,  after  a prayer  with  uplifted  hand, 
>n  personal  consecration  to  the  Lord.  The  following  is  recorded 
in  the  next  day’s  minutes  of  Presbytery  : “ Presbytery  hereby 
records  thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  for  the  abundant  mani- 
festation of  His  gracious  presence  with  us  during  this  meeting, 
on  our  Conference  last  night,  when  the  Spirit  came  upon  us  ‘ as  a 
rushing  mighty  wind,’  and  our  hearts  were  filled  with  praise  to 
overflowing.  Never  before  has  our  Presbytery  enjoyed  such  a 
meeting.  “Oh  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  his  good- 
ness, and  for  his  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of  men.” 

“Again,  at  our  Synod  at  Jhelum,  the  work  was  deepened  in 
the  hearts  of  many,  and  lasting  impressions  made  by  the  Spirit. 
Then  at  Sialkot,  at  the  opening  of  the  Theological  Seminary  the 
work  began  again  to  be  manifest.  There  was  from  the  first  of 
the  term,  a manifest  earnestness,  and  an  evident  spiritual  warmth, 
and  a spirit  of  expectancy  among  the  students.  Near  the  begin- 
ning of  the  term  they  sent  a letter  to  their  brother  students  in  the 
Theological  Seminary  in  Egypt,  expressing  their  deep  concern 


244  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


for  them,  and  their  interest  and  fellowship  in  the  one  common 
work  for  which  they  were  in  both  these  seminaries  preparing  ; 
and  urging  them  to  zeal  for  the  Lord.  Shortly  after  this  they 
arranged  for  a minister  of  the  “Church  of  England  Mission,” 
who  has  consecrated  himself  to  this  work,  to  spend  a Sabbath 
with  them.  The  Holy  Spirit  had  made  the  work  ripe  and  ready 
to  his  hands.  His  private  meetings  with  the  students  in  their 
rooms  were  specially  blessed.  The  Sabbath  morning  sermons  in 
the  church  on  the  power  of  the  Holy'Spirit,  and  in  the  evening 
in  the  Christian  Training  School,  on  the  need  of  holiness, 
touched  many  hearts.  These  were  the  breath  that  fanned  to  a 
flame  the  fire  begun  in  many  hearts.  At  the  close  of  the  evening 
service  a young  man  rose  up,  and,  with  weeping,  confessed  before 
the  congregation,  to  the  missionary,  of  having  deceived  and 
wronged  him  and  begged  his  pardon.  This  was  followed  by 
another  like  confession  by  another  young  man  to  one  of  the  native 
brethren,  and  was  accompanied  by  another  like  prayer  for  mercy. 
Next  day  in  the  Seminary,  regular  lessons  were  set  aside  and  the 
blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  there.  Hearts  were  opened, 
faults  were  confessed,  restitutions  made,  and  tears  of  joy  and 
sorrow  filled  the  eyes  of  everyone.  Weeping  over  sins  and 
prayers  for  pardon,  and  rejoicing  in  forgiveness,  and  thanksgiving 
for  blessing  filled  the  recitation  hours.  One  who  felt  that  he  had 
wronged  a man  now  in  America,  got  his  address  and  wrote  to  ask 
his  forgiveness  and  offered  to  make  restitution  for  the  wrong 
done.  The  writer  never  before  spent  such  a day  in  the  class- 
rooms. The  Seminary  year  was  most  profitable,  both  in  study 
and  in  Christian  work.  The  students  began  at  once  to  plan  to 
organize  work,  and  every  opportunity  was  improved.  Wherever 
they  went,  and  whoever  they  met,  they  presented  the  one  great 
theme.  Without  the  help  or  advice  of  any  missionary  they 
organized  a society  called  the  “Anjaman  Desi  Naujawan 
Masihi,”  which  in  English  means  “Native  Christian  Young 
Men’s  Society.” 

At  the  same  time  the  Lord  had  been  preparing  other  hearts 
for  the  same  blessing.  For  some  time  before  this,  the  girls  of  the 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  245 


Boarding  School  had  been  showing  more  than  usual  interest  in 
the  things  of  the  Spirit,  and  on  the  Sabbath  above  mentioned 
many  of  their  hearts  were  touched,  and  they  afterwards  could  not 
but  give  expression  to  that  which  was  working  within  them,  and 
filling  their  hearts  more  and  more.  So  on  the  next  Tuesday,  at 
the  weekly  prayer  meeting,  after  the  congregation  had  been  dis- 
missed, the  wife  of  one  of  the  students  seemed  to  be  in  trouble 
and  said  that  she  felt  she  should  pray,  but  that  her  timidity  had 
overcome  her,  and  she  feared  that  she  had  grieved  the  Spirit.  So, 
as  many  of  the  people  were  still  in  the  house,  they  were  asked  to 
tarry,  and  she  led  in  earnest  crying  prayer  that  touched  the  hearts 
of  all  present.  This  prayer  was  the  spark  to  light  the  fire  made 
ready  in  the  hearts  of  the  girls  of  the  Boarding  School,  and  in 
the  midst  of  these  prayers  the  whole  school  of  70  or  more  girls, 
broke  out  in  sobs  and  in  loud  crying.  And  not  till  much  time 
had  been  spent  in  the  singing  of  Psalms  could  they  be  quieted 
and  dismissed.  No  doubt  this  weeping  on  the  part  of  so  many 
of  the  smaller  girls  was  sympathetic,  but  many  of  the  larger  ones 
were  overcome  with  heart  feeling,  and  all  were  afterwards  truly 
affected  and  blessed.  After  returning  home  nearly  all  of  them 
began  to  cry  aloud,  and  not  till  late  at  night  could  they  be 
quieted,  and  even  then  many  of  them  seemed  in  great  distress, 
and  the  burden  of  sin  seemed  to  be  crushing  them.  Some  con- 
fessed and  soon  found  peace,  others  who  refused  to  open  their 
hearts  were  depressed  for  days,  and  some  for  weeks  ; but  after- 
ward gave  up  and  soon  found  peace.  Not  a few  of  the  girls  sat 
that  night  till  one  o’clock  reading  their  Bibles  ; some  of  them 
perplexed,  others  peaceful  and  happy  with  the  newly  found  peace 
beaming  in  their  faces.  A spirit  of  peace  and  love  most  visible 
seemed  to  brood  over  the  whole  school,  and  rejoiced  the  hearts 
of  the  ladies  in  charge  who  themselves  seemed  almost  spell- 
bound. As  they  sat  together  late  that  night  looking  over  the 
school  and  witnessed  some  of  the  girls  reading,  some  praying  and 
some  sleeping,  a strange  feeling,  that  can  never  be  forgotten, 
impressed  them.  They  rejoiced  and  wondered. 

From  that  day  a marked  change  come  over  the  whole  school. 


246  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Discipline  was  no  more  a task.  Girls  confessed  to  each  other 
and  asked  each  other’s  forgiveness  for  wrong  done  ; abuse  and 
quarrels  and  vain  talk  are  out  of  repute,  and  a cheerful  forgiving 
spirit  prevails. 

One  or  two  instances  will  show  the  sincerity  of  their  conviction 
and  the  simplicity  of  their  faith.  A little  cripple  came  one  day 
in  great  trouble  to  one  of  the  ladies,  with  tears  rolling  down 
her  face,  and  said,  “Oh,  Miss  Sahiba,  I am  such  a sinner!” 
When  asked  what  she  had  done,  she  said  that  she  had  despised 
one  of  the  other  girls  in  her  heart.  And  when  asked  what  she 
should  do,  said,  “Go  and  ask  her  pardon.”  And  started  oft 
at  once  to  make  peace  with  her  little  companion  ; but  again 
returned  weeping.  “And  what  now?  Would  she  not  forgive 
you?1’  “Oh  yes  ; but  I stole,  too,”  and  again  she  went  to  get 
another  pardon.  Returning  she  begged  the  lady’s  pardon  and 
asked  her  to  pray  for  her.  After  this  prayer  she  went  away 
happy.  At  another  time  three  little  girls  of  from  six  to  eight 
years  of  age,  were  heard,  when  by  themselves  in  the  garden,  pray- 
ing that  the  little  cripple,  who  was  one  of  them,  might  be  healed. 
They  had  never  been  specially  taught  to  pray  for  such  things, 
but  they  took  the  Word  literally.  The  little  withered  hand  that 
could  not  be  used  before  (the  elbow  joint  being  stiff),  is  now 
being  brought  into  use,  and  will  no  doubt  become  stronger  by 
use.  The  faith  of  little  children  did  this. 

The  concern  that  these  girls  now  manifested  for  the  souls  of 
others,  and  especially  oi  their  friends  and  kindred,  is  worthy  of 
remark,  and  shows  their  sincerity.  Praying  for  them,  writing 
for  them,  and  speaking  to  them  at  every  opportunity.  One  of 
our  pastors  whose  sister  was  in  the  school,  came  to  visit  her,  and 
also  had  some  errand  with  her.  As  soon  as  she  saw  him  she 
accosted  him  in  a way  that  astonished  him.  She  spoke  to  him 
of  his  sins  and  need  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  told  him  plainly 
of  his  shortcomings  and  coldness  in  the  work,  and  prayed  for 
him  in  his  presence,  and  told  aim  to  pray  for  himself ; and  con- 
tinued to  urge  on  him  the  need  of  grace,  until  he  became  vexed 
and  angry,  and  left  for  home  without  accomplishing  his  errand. 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  247 


When  about  sixteen  miles  on  his  way  home,  the  Spirit  brought 
home  the  words  of  his  sister  with  such  force  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  yield,  and  like  Saul,  cried  out,  “ Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do?”  And  he  pledged  himself  to  follow  the  lead- 
ings of  the  Spirit,  and  was  so  changed  when  he  reached  home 
that  the  people  thought  he  had  been  affected  by  the  sun  and 
was  out  of  his  mind.  He  began  meetings  in  the  borders  of  his 
congregation  with  so  much  zeal  that  he  incited  persecution  from 
the  people ; and  he  has  been  changed  from  a haughty  master  to 
to  an  humble  and  loving  pastor  of  his  people,  and  has  since  given 
up  one-third  of  that  part  of  his  salary  which  he  draws  from  the 
mission.  After  this,  one  of  his  members,  who  was  deserving  of 
discipline,  became  obstinate  and  refused  to  submit  to  the  Session. 
The  pastor  reasoned  and  plead  with  him,  but  he  proudly  replied 
that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Session.  He  was 
then  asked  to  pray,  which  he  refused  to  do.  The  pastor  then 
replied,  “ Well,  brother,  I can  do  one  thing  more  ; I can  pray 
for  you.”  And  he  kneeled  down  in  the  way  and  prayed  for  him. 
The  man  was  moved  to  tears  and  brought  to  submission. 

The  working  of  the  Spirit’s  power  was  also  manifest  in  the 
“Summer  Bible  Schools.”  The  school  at  Zafarwal  began  the 
latter  part  of  April.  The  Spirit’s  presence  was  specially  mani- 
fest in  the  interest  taken  in  the  Bible  studies  and  prayer  meetings. 
There  was  in  some  of  the  meetings  a manifest  sorrow  and  weep- 
ing on  account  of  the  conviction  of  sin.  Two  or  three  mem- 
bers of  this  school  who  were  at  enmity  with  persons  in  the 
village  where  they  lived,  asked  leave  from  the  school  to  go  and 
make  peace  with  those  persons  before  partaking  of  the  commu- 
nion, one  person  going  a distance  of  more  than  fifteen  miles.  Also 
the  quickening  of  one  of  our  pastors,  who  afterwards  more  fully 
consecrated  himself,  was  greatly  deepened  at  this  time. 

The  Gujranwala  Summer  School  immediately  followed  this 
one.  Here  again  the  power  of  the  Spirit  was  deeply  felt.  Here 
too,  as  in  other  places,  there  was  evidence  of  the  Lord’s  previous 
preparation  for  the  work.  All  the  brethren  testified  that  for 
some  time  previous  there  had  been  signs  of  a more  than  usual 


248  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


activity  of  the  Spirit  of  God  working  with  the  people.  This  was 
observed  by  a greater  interest  than  usual  manifested  in  the  study 
of  the  Word  of  God,  and  earnestness  in  prayer,  and  a manifest 
change  in  the  lives  of  some  of  the  people.  Also  the  meetings  of 
the  Presbytery  were  evidenced  with  more  than  usual  spirituality  ; 
sometimes  some  of  the  native  brethren  spending  much  of  the 
night  at  these  meetings,  in  praise,  prayer  and  conference.  But  not 
until  this  Summer  School  was  there  any  striking  manifestation  of 
the  Spirit’s  powerful  presence.  There  it  was  that  they  learned  to 
see  their  sins  in  a new  light,  and  were  compelled  to  confess  them 
before  God  and  in  the  presence  of  men,  and  sue  anew  for  pardon. 
Men  sobbed  like  children  and  the  tears  rolled  down  their  faces. 
In  one  instance  three  men  stood  on  the  floor  at  one  time,  and 
before  God  and  the  people  acknowledged  their  faults  to  each 
other,  and  asked  God’s  pardon  and  wept  together.  Women  that 
never  before  dared  to  pray  in  public,  much  less  stand  up  and 
speak,  stood  and  confessed  their  sins  with  weeping,  and  prayed 
with  wonderful  fervency.  Besides  these  public  confessions,  there 
were  many  made  in  private,  to  the  persons  concerned.  They 
confessed  their  faults  one  to  another  privately.  One  man  con- 
fessed a falsehood  committed  many  years  ago,  and  offered  the 
money  to  undo  the  wrong  done  thereby.  In  other  cases,  too, 
restitutions  were  made.  Some  were  so  overcome  by  the  visions 
of  their  sins  that  they  could  not  speak  in  their  weeping,  and  ex- 
pressed themselves  as  having  seen  a vision  of  light  shining  about 
them.  Many  touching  instances  have  occurred  in  different 
places,  which  we  withhold  from  print.  We  praise  the  Lord 
from  the  heart  for  what  we  know  in  our  hearts,  and  for  what  our 
eyes  have  seen  and  our  ears  have  heard,  as  well  as  for  what  we 
made  known  for  His  praise  and  glory. 

In  the  Summer  School  at  Sialkot,  too,  this  power  was  manifest ; 
not  so  much  in  a way  that  would  strike  the  outward  observer,  as 
in  the  quickening  observed  by  those  who  were  in  special  connec- 
tion with  the  working  of  the  school. 

It  has  happened  more  than  once  in  connection  with  this  move- 
ment, that  those  who  have  tried  to  resist  the  power,  and  make 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  249 


light  of  its  workings,  have  been  compelled  to  yield  and  bewail  their 
obstinacy  and  hard  heartedness.  This  was  the  case  with  one 
young  man  in  this  school,  who  resisted  every  effort  made  with 
him,  and  when  approached  by  one  of  the  theological  students, 
became  angry,  and  opposed  him  in  very  strong  terms.  In  one 
of  the  meetings  he  broke  down  and  wept  like  a child.  After  this 
his  attitude  was  entirely  changed,  and  he  was  ready  to  help  on 
the  work. 

During  this  school,  three  or  four  weeks  were  given  to  special 
evangelistic  services,  which  were  well  attended.  These  services 
were  held  in  the  chapel  of  the  City  Boys’  School,  and  both  the 
Boarding  Schools  were  in  attendance.  The  benches  were  taken 
out  of  the  chapel  and  the  audience  arranged  on  the  floor  in  rows, 
as  closely  packed  together  as  they  could  sit.  The  side  room  was 
also  filled.  Only  a small  space  was  left  in  the  front  where  the 
minister  could  move.  All  listened  with  eagerness  and  many  felt 
the  quickening  presence. 

But  this  work  did  not  end  with  the  Bible  schools.  After  these 
had  closed,  conferences  or  evangelistic  meetings  were  held  in  dif- 
ferent places  with  encouraging  results. 

In  Zafarwal  District  these  meetings  resulted  in  much  good. 
Many  have  vowed  to  give  a tenth  of  their  income  to  the  Lord, 
and  others  have  learned  to  trust  more  fully  to  the  Lord.  One  of 
our  ministers  who  was  at  first  much  opposed  to  the  theory  of 
giving  up  salary  from  the  mission,  which  was  being  advocated  by 
some  of  the  leaders  in  this  movement,  and  who  had  said  that  this 
weeping  over  sin,  etc.,  was  artificial  and  for  effect,  came  to  one 
of  these  meetings  prepared  to  speak  against  it  and  oppose  it  as 
excitement.  During  the  first  meeting  his  prepared  speech  left 
him,  and  when  called  on  to  speak  said  that  he  had  intended 
saying  something  but  that  the  Spirit  had  closed  his  mouth.  He 
left  this  meeting  deeply  impressed  and  that  night  could  not  sleep. 
Before  morning  the  Spirit  had  convinced  him  that  by  giving  up 
his  salary  from  the  mission,  he  could  be  more  useful  to  his  people 
and  could  come  much  nearer  to  them.  In  the  morning  he  con- 
sulted his  wife  who  was  in  deep  sympathy  with  him  on  the 


250  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


subject.  At  the  second  meeting,  when  called  on  again  to  speak, 
he  said,  “ What  can  I say  ?”  He  broke  down  and  could  say  no 
more.  Again  he  attempted  to  speak,  but  his  feelings  again  over- 
came him.  He  then  left  the  room.  When  he  had  given  vent 
to  his  feelings  in  tears  and  had  gained  composure,  he  returned 
and  confessed  how  he  had  planned  to  oppose  this  work,  because 
he  did  not  understand  it,  and  that  he  had  been  made  dumb  for 
three  days.  He  could  not  oppose  it.  He  then  told  them  that 
the  Spirit  had  called  on  him  to  give  up  his  salary  from  the  mission, 
and  that  in  future  he  would  draw  no  more  salary  from  that 
source,  but  depend  on  the  people,  and  trust  to  the  Lord  for  his 
support.  This  step  did  have  much  of  the  desired  effect  at  once 
on  the  people.  His  preaching  too,  is  with  new  zeal  and  fer- 
vency and  he  has  become  a leader  in  this  movement. 

Two  theological  students  have,  since  the  close  of  the  Seminary, 
been  working  without  salary,  and  we  are  trying  to  build  up  self- 
supporting  congregations.  May  the  Lord  prosper  them  and 
crown  their  efforts  with  abundant  success  ! 

A like  conference  was  held  in  Pasrur  early  in  November.  Here 
also  a deep  interest  was  manifested.  The  people  came  to  this 
conference  with  a manifest  eagerness  as  if  coming  to  a feast,  and 
the  interest  was  manifest  from  the  first.  Expressions  like  this  were 
used  : “We  are  going  to  Pasrur  for  a blessing.”  And  we  believe 
that  the  expectations  of  many  were  realized,  for  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  manifestly  present  with  us,  and  our  hearts  were  again  re- 
freshed and  strengthened,  and  spiritual  life  again  quickened.  But 
perhaps  the  most  encouraging  feature  of  this  conference  was  the 
interest  manifested  in  the  growth  of  the  Church.  Much  interest 
was  manifested  in  the  subject  of  self-support,  and  the  idea  of  a 
self-supporting  Indian  Church  is  taking  hold  of  many.  One  man 
of  limited  means  agreed  to  support  a teacher  for  one  month.  Oh, 
that  others  would  follow  this  example  ! When  this  spirit  has 
spread  among  the  people,  the  perplexing  question  of  self-support 
will  be  settled  on  a right  basis. 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  251 


Thus  it  was  that  the  Lord  of  the  harvest, 
having  granted  in  a former  period  large  in- 
gatherings, now  granted  to  the  Mission  the 
purifying  and  upbuilding  influences  of  spirit- 
ual quickening  to  thoroughly  establish  the 
young  native  Church. 

The  appearance  of  two  new  forms  of  work 
should  be  at  least  mentioned  before  leaving  this 
period.  In  1892,  a college  department  with  a 
two-year  course  in  view  was  established  in  con- 
nection with  the  Boys’  High  School  at  Rawal 
Pindi.  This  developed  steadily,  and  in  1895  it 
had  the  recognition  of  “ the  Punjab  University,” 
or  government  educational  institution,  under  the 
name  of  “ Gordon  Mission  College.”  In  1897, 
the  Mission  took  charge  of  a number  of  famine 
children  and  ordered  the  taking  up  again  of 
industrial  work  for  their  training. 

Surveying  broadly  conditions  at  the  close  of 
this  period,  we  find  19  ordained  missionaries 
under  appointment,  and  26  unmarried  women 
missionaries,  of  whom  three  are  physicians ; 
a handsome  new  hospital  has  been  built  at 
Jhelum  (1896)  ; the  number  of  organized  con- 
gregations has  more  than  trebled,  there  being 
now  19 ; and  there  are  nine  ordained  native 
ministers,  as  against  but  two  at  the  beginning 
of  this  short  period.  One  hundred  and  two 
schools  give  an  aggregate  enrolment  of  6,104 


College  and 

Industrial 

Work 


252  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Expansion 


scholars,  more  than  doubling  the  enrolment  of 
the  last  period.  The  native  contributions  to 
Church  purposes  also  more  than  double,  and 
reach  $965.  It  has  been  a period  of  develop- 
ment, as  well  as  of  adjustment. 


PERIOD  OF  EXPANSION  AND  QUICKENING 

(1899-1909) 


We  now  come  to  the  last  period  with  which 
we  are  to  deal ; indeed,  its  last  year  has  not 
yet  been  fully  unfolded.  Its  very  nearness  to 
us  makes  it  unnecessary  to  describe  this  period 
further  than  to  point  out  its  outstanding  fea- 
tures and  events. 

It  is  a decade  of  expansion.  Witness  the  19 
ordained  foreign  missionaries  that  have  now 
been  increased  to  23,  and  the  26  unmarried 
women  now  increased  to  38,  while  two  laymen 
and  a doctor  are  also  added  to  the  force  of 
men.  Witness  the  organized  congregations  that 
have  grown  from  19  to  33,  and  the  native  min- 
isters that  number  25,  as  against  nine  in  the 
previous  period.  The  102  schools  of  the  pre- 
vious period  are  now  represented  by  178  schools, 
with  an  enrolment  of  9,815,  one  and  a half 
times  the  earlier  enrolment.  Witness,  too,  the 
native  Church,  with  its  14,202  members,  as 


-'X 


Memorial  Hospital  at  Sialkot 

This  hospital  is  supported  by  the  Women’s  Board,  and  is  for  women  and 

children. 


Gordon  Mission  Coi.lege 

This  College  is  located  at  Rawal  Pindi,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Punjab 

University. 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  253 


against  the  former  record  of  6,960  members; 
and  if  the  membership  has  just  about  doubled, 
the  contributions  have  more  than  trebled,  and 
they  now  reach  over  $3,000  a year.*  This 
surely  may  be  called  a period  of  expansion. 

Nor  do  figures  tell  the  whole  story.  Down 
into  the  canal  region  has  mission  work  been 
extended,  opening  up  the  Sangla  and  Sarghoda 
Mission  districts.  A Christian  village,  Mar- 
tinpur,  has  been  settled  by  converts  of  the  Mis- 
sion. 

Famine  and  plague  have  visited  India,  and 
have  created  a new  institution,  the  Girls’  Indus- 
trial Home  at  Pasrur,  where  famine  orphans 
are  being  cared  for.  Gordon  Mission  College, 
so  long  only  a department  of  the  High  School  at 
Rawal  Pindi,  is  now  an  independent  institution 
and  has  its  own  $12,000  home. 

The  Girls’  Boarding  School  at  Sialkot,  under 
the  liberal  support  of  the  Women’s  Board,  and 
the  Memorial  Hospital  also,  have  enlarged  their 
buildings  and  their  usefulness,  until  the  former 
houses  180  girls,  and  the  latter  ministers  to 
some  29,000  patients  each  year. 

On  October  15,  1902,  another  presbytery  was 
organized — the  Presbytery  of  Rawal  Pindi — 

* All  these  figures  are  those  for  January  1,  1908,  later  figures 
not  being  available. 


254  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Union 


Appeal  for 
Workers 


out  of  territory  formerly  included  within  the 
hounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Gujranwala. 

During  this  period,  a movement  was  launched 
in  North  India  to  form  a Union  Presbyterian 
Church  of  India.  The  United  Presbyterian 
missionaries  cordially  cooperated  in  the  prelim- 
inary conferences  and  a basis  of  union  was 
drafted  and  submitted  to  the  Church  in 
America.  The  General  Assembly,  in  1902, 
magnanimously  voted  favorably  for  such  union 
as  would  seem  to  he  called  for  by  the  progress 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  referred  the  matter 
to  the  Mission  for  further  consideration.  Prac- 
tical considerations,  however,  led  the  Mission 
to  postpone  action,  so  that  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  in  India  did  not  enter  into  the 
union. 

To  this  period  belongs  also  what  the  Mission 
might  call  its  “ crown  of  glorying,”  the  organ- 
ization in  1907  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions 
of  the  Native  Church.  Selecting  an  unoc- 
cupied field,  between  Sargodha  and  Attock,  this 
agency  of  the  native  Church  sends  forth  a native 
missionary,  one  of  its  strongest  pastors,  and 
supports  him  with  native  funds,  presenting 
the  inspiring  picture  of  a mission  Church  be- 
come a missionary  Church. 

If  all  these  facts  point  to  expansion  of  life 
and  work,  there  remains  one  event  which  be- 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  255 


longs  also  to  this  period  and  which  marks  ex- 
pansion of  vision.  In  October,  1902,  a con- 
ference was  held  in  which  much  time  was 
given  to  earnest  prayer,  and  the  Mission  wras 
brought  face  to  face  with  this  new  and  in- 
spiring conception, — the  actual  and  complete 
evangelization  of  its  mission  field.  The  ques- 
tion was  asked,  What  force  would  be  needed 
to  actually  evangelize  this  mission  field  ? This 
resulted  first  in  a clear  definition  of  the  Mis- 
sion’s responsibility.  It  was  found  that  the 
Mission’s  recognized  responsibility  included  a 
population  of  5,075,000  souls.  Then,  survey- 
ing the  needs  of  each  mission  district  separ- 
ately, unanimous  agreement  was  reached  that 
not  less  than  180  more  foreign  missionaries 
would  be  needed  to  enable  the  Mission,  even 
with  all  the  assistance  to  be  secured  from  native 
workers,  to  fulfil  her  Lord’s  commission  of 
carrying  the  Gospel  to  the  unevangelized  in  her 
own  field.  An  appeal  was  therefore  framed  in 
prayer  and  sent  forth  in  faith,  asking  the 
Church  in  America  for  180  new  missionaries. 

The  home  Church  was  moved  as  never  before 
in  her  history.  Such  action  established  a new 
precedent  in  the  annals  of  Missions.  Yet  there 
was  no  gainsaying  the  arguments  and  the  facts 
presented.  The  Great  Commission,  hitherto 
unobeyed,  demanded  of  the  Church  a sober 


Endorse- 
ment of 
Home 
Church 


256  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


earnest  endeavor  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  India’s 
nnevangelized  millions.  A clear  Providence 
had  laid  these  five  millions  at  the  door  of  this 
Mission  and  Church  for  evangelization.  There 
was  no  gainsaying  the  necessity  of  having,  at 
least,  the  number  of  missionaries  which  the  ap- 
peal called  for.  There  remained  but  °ne  ques- 
tion. Would  the  Church  recognize  her  obli- 
gations, assume  them,  and  go  forth,  in  the 
strength  of  her  Lord,  to  discharge  them?  The 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church,  on  June  1, 
1903,  at  a solemn  and  prayerful  session,  by 
unanimous  rising  vote,  endorsed  the  appeal  of 
her  Mission  and  a similar  appeal  from  her  Mis- 
sion in  Egypt.  That  endorsement  declared 
these  appeals  to  be  true  statements  of  existing 
need,  true  statements  of  the  duty  of  the  Church 
and  further  declared  it  to  be  the  deliberate  pur- 
pose of  the  Church  to  meet  those  appeals.  This 
action  yet  awaits  realization,  but  vision  must 
always  come  before  realization,  and  to  this 
period  belongs  the  honor  of  having  brought  be- 
fore the  Church  this  vision,  which  must  yet 
lead  to  victory. 

These  significant  events  and  far-reaching 
facts  of  the  Mission’s  recent  history,  must  not  be 
permitted  to  crowd  out  some  sketch  of  that  re- 
vival movement  which  makes  it  necessary  to 


Missionaries  at  Annual  Meeting 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  257 


characterize  this  period  as  one  of  spiritual 
quickening  also. 

This  revival  movement  had  its  public  man- 
ifestation at  the  Sialkot  Convention,  of  1905, 
but  it  had  its  springs  in  hidden  resources  of 
prayer  that  reached  hack  several  years  and 
reached  up  to  the  very  throne  of  God.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  Mission’s  report  of  this  con- 
vention : 

Sialkot  Convention 

August  25  to  Sept.  3,  1905. 

In  the  latter  days  of  August,  1905,  the  second  annual  conven- 
tion for  the  deepening  of  the  spiritual  life  was  held  in  Sialkot. 
The  attendance  was  nearly  300.  Most  of  these  were  the  Indian 
workers,  men  and  women,  but  a large  number  of  missionaries 
from  our  own,  from  the  Scotch,  and  from  the  American  Presby- 
terian Missions,  were  also  present.  The  meetings  continued  ten 
days.  Many  prayers  had  been  going  up  for  this  convention.  In 
the  Home  land  some  had  been  praying  for  it,  while  in  India  very 
definite  prayer  had  been  made  that  this  might  be  a time  of  very 
special  blessing. 

A program  had  been  carefully  prepared,  which  was  materially 
changed  after  the  first  day.  A series  of  morning  addresses  were 
to  have  been  given  about  the  Holy  Ghost.  Only  one  was  deliv- 
ered. After  that,  He  came  Himself  in  great  power,  and  all 
learned  from  Him.  When  the  one  who  had  been  appointed  to 
give  the  addresses  came  in,  the  second  morning,  and  said  quietly, 
“ I thank  God,  He  has  given  me  no  message  for  you  to-day,” 
surprise  was  written  on  some  faces.  The  chairman  moved  aside 
and  said,  “The  Holy  Ghost  is  leader  of  this  meeting.”  Each 
morning  meeting  was  left  in  this  way  and  the  liberty  was  not 
abused.  People  spoke  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost 


The  Sialkot 
Revival 


258  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


After  the  meeting  in  the  chapel,  which  usually  continued  two 
and  three  hours,  groups  would  gather  here  and  there  for  more 
prayer  and  praise. 

Conviction  of  sin  came  over  the  audience  from  the  beginning 
of  the  meeting.  It  was  a time  of  intense  mental  agony.  The 
nearness  of  God  was  very  real.  This  led  to  a great  desire  for 
purity  of  heart  and  life.  Men  and  women  seemed  to  forget  each 
other’s  presence  as  they  stood  under  the  searchlight  of  God,  and 
grace  was  given  them  to  confess  sins  of  the  past.  One  day  will 
especially  be  remembered  as  the  day  of  great  confession.  One 
said  that  until  this  had  been  done  a black  cloud  seemed  to  hang 
low  over  the  audience.  While  hidden  sins  were  being  revealed 
by  the  Spirit,  people,  with  trembling  in  every  limb,  stood  obedi- 
ent to  His  voice,  confessing  openly  as  He  bade.  After  this  the 
cloud  seemed  to  lift  and  the  sunshine  came  and  flooded  the  place, 
and  joy  was  depicted  on  many  countenances.  Mouths  were  filled 
with  laughter  and  song.  Then  it  was  that  we  began  to  realize 
what  it  is  “ to  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.” 

One  room  was  set  aside  for  prayer.  After  the  first  or  second 
day  this  place  was  not  empty,  day  or  night.  One  morning,  about 
three  o’clock,  one  rushed  into  the  room,  crying  out,  ‘‘Danger, 
danger.”  He  said,  “ I was  lying  on  my  bed  out  in  the  court- 
yard and  I heard  a voice  saying,  ‘ You  are  in  great  danger.’  ” 
The  watchers  in  the  prayer-room  now  gave  themselves  anew  to 
prayer  and  supplication,  and  did  not  cease  until  morning  dawned. 
The  new  day  showed  that  danger  had  been  imminent  indeed. 
Satan  seemed  to  have  marshaled  all  his  forces  to  quench  the 
work  of  God’s  Spirit,  but  prayer  prevailed,  the  enemy  was  de- 
feated, and  from  that  on  till  the  close  of  the  meeting  there  was 
constant  victory. 

A few  instances  must  be  given  to  show  how  God’s  Spirit 
worked.  A young  man  of  our  Mission  had  committed  sin,  and 
he  had  felt  there  was  no  danger  of  it  ever  being  discovered.  It 
now  became  such  a burden  to  him,  he  felt  the  matter  must  be 
made  right,  no  matter  what  the  cost.  He  left  the  convention, 
went  back  to  his  home,  forty  miles  distant,  confessed  his  sin  to 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  259 


the  one  he  had  wronged,  made  restitution,  then  returned  light- 
hearted to  Sialkot  and  stayed  until  the  close  of  the  convention. 

An  aged  minister  of  the  gospel  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the 
confessions  that  were  made,  and  when  one  of  his  own  household 
confessed  to  a hidden  sin,  he  became  so  angry  that  he  said  he 
would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  such  meetings.  A few  who 
knew  the  circumstances  gave  themselves  up  to  much  earnest 
prayer  in  his  behalf,  asking  that  he  might  be  reconciled  to  God’s 
will.  After  one  day’s  absence  he  returned,  but  his  heart  was  still 
hard.  He  went  to  one  of  the  missionaries  and  asked  that  a con- 
ference might  be  arranged  so  that  he  could  show  the  sinfulness  of 
open  confession.  This  the  missionary  refused  to  do  until  shown 
that  it  was  the  Lord’s  will,  but  he  said,  “We  will  pray  about 
it.”  Together  they  went  into  the  prayer-room,  and  a brother 
began  at  once  to  intercede  most  earnestly  for  this  minister.  The 
latter  immediately  fell  down  on  his  face,  weeping  aloud,  and 
called  out,  “ Oh,  how  I have  sinned  ! O God,  have  mercy  on 
me  !”  Shortly  afterwards  he  went  into  the  convention  hall 
where  the  meeting  was  in  session,  and,  in  broken  voice,  said, 
“Some  here  have  confessed  to  one  or  two  awful  sins  in  their 
lives,  but  where  shall  I begin,  what  shall  I say  ? Mine  iniquities 
have  taken  hold  upon  me,  so  that  I am  not  able  to  look  up;  they 
are  more  than  the  hairs  of  mine  head.”  The  great  blessing  came 
to  him,  too. 

Two  young  men  went  into  the  prayer-room  one  night  in  a spirit 
of  levity,  and  with  mocking  words  on  their  lips.  They  were  soon 
under  deep  conviction  and  fell  on  their  faces  before  God.  One 
confessed  a terrible  sin  that  had  come  into  his  life.  Their  lives 
now  testify  to  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  cleanse  and  keep 
clean  the  ways  of  a young  man. 

The  last  Sabbath  morning’s  service  was  most  impressive.  There 
was  no  sermon,  there  was  no  leader.  The  songs  of  Zion  filled 
hearts  with  joy,  and  they  alone  could  give  an  outlet  to  the  exuber- 
ance of  joy  felt  by  so  many  hearts.  Some  one  announced  the 
30th  Psalm.  It  was  sung  throughout.  The  aged  minister  men- 
tioned above,  whose  face  was  now  all  alight,  said,  “ Let  us  sing 


260  FAR,  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


it  again.”  This  was  done.  “Oh,  it  is  so  good,  let  us  have  it 
once  more,”  another  said,  and  a third  time  the  Psalm  was  sung 
from  beginning  to  end.  This  time  some  shouted  for  joy,  and 
others,  like  David,  danced  before  the  Lord  as  they  sang, 

“And  now  to  joyous  dancing 
My  sorrow  thou  hast  turned.” 

The  148th  Psalm  will  long  be  remembered  as  the  convention 
song.  It  was  sung  by  day  and  by  night.  Nothing  else  could 
satisfy  the  souls  that  were  hungry  to  praise  God  for  all  that  was 
in  them,  and  all  that  was  round  about  them. 

It  was  during  the  convention  that  two  young  men,  both  min- 
isters, felt  the  call  of  God  to  go  back  home  and  begin  the  life  of 
self-support  pastors.  This  they  have  done  and  God  is  blessing 
them  and  their  people.  One  returned  to  his  village,  and  that 
night  he  held  an  all-night  meeting  with  his  people.  A revival 
began  there,  and  that  whole  district  has  been  changed  by  the 
power  of  God’s  Spirit  so  graciously  given  in  Sialkot.  Not  only 
this  one  district,  but  many  others  ; not  only  our  own  Mission,  but 
the  whole  Punjab,  and,  praise  God,  the  whole  of  India,  are  being 
touched  with  the  Pentecostal  flame. 

The  last  morning  of  the  convention,  long  before  the  dawn  of 
day,  the  busy  workers  were  up  making  preparations  to  leave  the 
place  that  had  now  become  so  precious  to  them.  In  the  court-yard 
a little  later  a group  of  earnest  men  gathered  around  a crimson 
flag  on  which  shone  a cross  of  gold.  A native  minister  conducted 
a short  service,  and  said  in  closing,  “ We  are  now  soldiers  going 
forth  to  battle  under  the  banner  of  the  cross.”  Gladly,  joyfully, 
and  with  shouts  of  “Victory,  victory  in  Jesus,”  each  one  went 
as  the  Spirit  led. 


Each  year  since  1905,  the  Sialkot  Convention 
has  heen  the  occasion  for  fresh  baptisms  of  the 
Spirit,  unto  sanctification,  unto  prayer,  unto 


RECENT  MISSIONARY  WORK  2GI 


praise,  and  unto  service.  The  influence  has 
been  felt  in  every  part  of  the  mission  field. 
Recent  conventions,  far  from  losing  their 
power,  have  gained  in  actual  power,  even 
where  the  manifestations  were  neither  so  un- 
usual or  so  dramatic.  Thus  the  Great  Builder 
of  the  Kingdom,  having  granted  numerical 
successes,  poured  out  His  Spirit  upon  the 
rapidly  growing  Church,  that  its  life  might  be 
purified  and  that  it  might  enjoy  spiritual  power 
in  its  expanded  activities. 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


“ And  I heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  saying,  Whom  shall  I 
send,  and  who  will  go  for  us  ? Then  I said,  Here  am  I ; send 
me.” — Isaiah. 

‘‘Give  me  a hundred  men  who  fear  nothing  but  God,  hate 
nothing  but  sin,  and  are  determined  to  know  nothing  among  men 
but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  and  I will  set  the  world  on 
fire  with  them.” — -John  Wesley. 

“The  evangelization  of  the  world  in  this  generation  depends, 
first  of  all,  upon  a revival  of  prayer.  Deeper  than  the  need  for 
men  ; aye,  deep  down  at  the  bottom  of  our  spiritless  life  is  the 
need  for  the  forgotten  secret  of  prevailing,  world- wide  prayer.” 
— Robert  E.  Speer. 

“And  there  followed  great  voices  in  heaven,  and  they  said, 
The  kingdom  of  the  world  is  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord, 
and  of  his  Christ : and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.” — Book 
of  Revelation. 


VIII 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 

SOMETIMES  it  seems  so  far  off,  that 
if  it  were  not  for  His  Word  we  might 
lose  heart,  and  think  that  life  was  meant 
to  be  only  conflict,  with  no  final  triumph.  But 
it  is  not  so,  for  “great  voices  in  heaven”  bespeak 
the  day  when  the  kingdom  of  the  world  shall 
“ become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ.”  And  this  includes  India  to  its  most 
northern  borders.  And,  across  longer  or 
shorter  stretches  of  time,  we  hear  the  song  of 
those  who  have  “ come  off  victorious  from  the 
beast.”  It  is  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb, 
“ Great  and  marvellous  are  thv  works,  O Lord 
God,  . . . righteous  and  true  are  thy  ways, 
thou  King  of  the  ages  . . . for  all  the  na- 

tions shall  come  and  worship  before  thee.” 
And  we  are  made  to  see  the  “ great  multitude, 
which  no  man  could  number,  out  of  every  nation 
and  of  all  tribes  and  peoples  and  tongues,  stand- 
ing before  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb.” 
So  we  are  made  to  believe  anew  in  the  final 
265 


266  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Missionary 

Experience 


triumph.  We  come  away  with  a hope  which  is 
unshakable  because  it  has  sure  anchorage  in  the 
Word  of  God. 

THE  PROMISE  OF  THE  PAST 

The  past,  too,  seems  a pathway,  as  we  look  at 
it  now,  leading  up  to  Final  Triumph. 

1.  The  missionary  experience  of  half  a cen- 
tury points  to  future  triumph.  If,  from  the 
beginning,  more  had  been  attempted,  if  a 
greater  number  of  missionaries  had  been  sent 
out,  if  the  work  had  been  better  supported, 
doubtless  greater  success  would  be  on  record 
to-day.  But  still,  there  was  much  to  be  learned, 
much  to  be  discovered,  of  missionary  method,  of 
missionary  policy,  of  missionary  strategy.  The 
fifty  years  have  availed  much  by  their  store  of 
experience.  Mistakes  made  have  been  corrected 
and  will  not  be  made  again.  The  vexing 
problems  of  life  and  language  in  a foreign  land 
are  no  longer  appalling.  The  difficult  question 
of  aid  to  converts,  has  now  largely  found  solu- 
tion in  a policy  of  native  self-support  and  even 
of  missionary  effort  by  natives.  The  long  con- 
tinued discussion  as  to  propriety  of  receiving 
into  the  Church  the  despised  Chuhra,  has  ended 
with  a policy  of  careful  instruction  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  upbuilding  of  a great  Church,  on 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


267 


the  other  hand,  from  among  these  very  people, 
now  “ washed,  sanctified,  justified  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  in  the  Spirit  of 
our  Lord.”  The  burden  of  ministering  to  a 
scattered  Christian  community  and  of  reaching 
an  Indian  population  distributed  in  small 
villages,  is  a burden  which  methods  of  itiner- 
ating, so  characteristic  of  Indian  missions,  are 
enabling  the  missionary  to  carry.  The  seclu- 
sion of  the  purdah  or  zenana  has  failed  to  shut 
out  the  Gospel  permanently,  for  work  for  wo- 
men by  women  has  become  a well  developed 
agency  of  missions.  The  organization  of  a 
Synod  and  four  presbyteries,  in  which  native 
preachers  now  outnumber  foreign  ordained 
ministers,  has  removed  many  doubts  concerning 
a native  self-directing  Church,  and  helps  to 
prove  that  the  Spirit’s  leadership  may  be  re- 
vealed through  native  Indians  as  well  as  through 
foreign  missionaries.  Some  of  her  solutions  of 
such  vexing  problems,  the  little  United  Presby- 
terian Mission  in  North  India  has  been  able  to 
pass  on  to  other  missions,  so  that  her  past  mis- 
sionary experience,  of  priceless  value  to  herself, 
is  also  of  value  to  others  that  they  all  may,  to- 
gether, hasten  the  day  of  final  triumph  in  In- 
dia. Other  lessons  will  yet  have  to  be  learned ; 
other  problems  yet  remain  to  be  solved ; other 
methods  yet  must  be  devised;  but  the  experi- 


268  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


ence  of  the  past  imparts  confidence  for  tho 
future.  The  new  missionary  to-day  does  not 
need  to  begin  at  the  beginning.  He  may  take 
this  inheritance'  of  the  past  and  add  to  it  wis- 
dom gained  from  new  endeavors.  He  may 
broaden  his  own  judgment  by  that  of  a great 
force  of  other  workers. 

inffof  p»*t  2.  The  ingatherings  of  the  past  also  point  to 
future  triumph.  From  a numerical  point  of 
view,  the  ingathering  of  this  little  Mission  far 
exceeds  the  average  among  missions  throughout 
India.  Read  off  the  native  Church  membership 
for  each  decade  of  the  Mission’s  history,  and 
what  an  inspiring  progress  it  shows ! Can  the 
Church  parallel  it  anywhere  else  in  her  history  ? 


1855. , 

. .no  members 

1885. 

. . .2,176 

1865. 

. .35 

1895. 

. . .6,582 

1875. , 

. .153 

1905. 

. .11,159 

And  to-day  there  are  14,202  members  in  that 
native  Church  in  India.  One  presbytery  of 
that  Church- — that  of  Gujranwala — is  larger  in 
membership  than  any  presbytery  of  the  Church 
in  America,  save  two,  those  of  Monongahela  and 
Allegheny.  Another  presbytery  yonder — that 
of  Sialkot — is  larger  than  the  combined  Synods 
of  Colorado  and  California,  while  the  Synod 
of  the  Punjab  ranks  fourth  among  the  thirteen 


FINAL  TRIUMPH  269 


1905 


Growth  of  Native  Church. 

Each  pyramid  represents  the  membership  of  the  Church  for  the  year  indi- 
cated above  it.  The  membership  for  the  different  years  is  given  below  the 
pyramids. 


270  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


A Striking 
Example 


synods  which  constitute  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  world.  Yet  fifty-four 
years  ago  there  were  no  members. 

If  there  is  a note  of  triumph  in  the  numer- 
ical growth  of  the  native  Church,  that  note 
sounds  still  more  loudly  in  the  character  of 
many  of  those  thus  brought  to  Christ. 

In  a village  pastorate  in  Northern  India  is 
one  whose  faithful  ministry  has  endeared  him 
to  his  people,  while  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit 
makes  him  a preacher  of  power.  His  influence, 
however,  has  reached  far  out  beyond  the  limits 
of  his  own  congregation  and  community,  for  he 
is  a recognized  leader  in  the  self-support  move- 
ment which  has  quickened  so  remarkably  the 
life  of  the  native  Church.  This  leadership  was 
bought  at  a great  price  when,  contrary  to  all 
precedent  and  tradition,  he  refused  to  receive 
any  foreign  support  and  limited  himself  alto- 
gether to  what  his  native  flock  could  give  him. 
“ Having  been  associated  with  him  for  six 
years,”  is  the  testimony  of  one  missionary,  “ I 
can  say  I know  of  no  braver,  more  heroic,  self- 
denying  soldier  in  God’s  army  than  this  humble 
village  pastor.” 

And  here  is  the  story  of  his  early  life  and  the 
proof  that  the  grace  of  God  saves  to  the  utter- 
most : “ His  parents  were  faithful  followers 

of  Bala  Shah,  the  Chuhra  god.  The  worship  of 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


271 


this  god,  which  has  about  100,000  followers  in 
our  field,  is  very  simple,  but  with  low  ideals  and 
exceedingly  debasing  influence.  Whenever  a 
few  Chuhra  families  settle  they  put  seed  of 
various  kinds  in  a vessel  and  bury  it;  then  a 
goat  is  sacrificed  and  the  blood  poured  over  this, 
and  upon  the  spot  a clay  pillar  erected.  In  one 
side  of  the  pillar  are  small  niches  for  earthen 
lamps  which  are  lighted  every  Thursday  night. 
The  worship  consists  of  folding  the  hands  and 
bowing  before  the  pillar,  presenting  offerings 
and  repeating  prayers.” 

“ Mallu’s  father  was  not  only  a devout  de- 
votee of  Bala  Shah,  but  erected  in  his  house  an 
image  to  one  of  the  Hindu  gods.  Underneath 
this  he  placed  a snake  of  gold,  and  spent  hours 
in  sitting  before  this  image,  swaying  his  body 
to  and  fro,  and  singing.  The  more  religious  he 
became,  the  more  impure  also  he  grew.  And  at 
last,  leaving  his  wife  and  children,  he  fled  with 
another’s  wife.  In  such  surroundings  Mallu 
was  reared.  His  work  was  to  tend  the  sheep 
and  goats.  He  gambled,  stole  the  cotton  from 
the  fields  and  sold  it,  and  practiced  immoral- 
ities, a description  of  which  cannot  here  be 
given.  He  was  married  at  the  age  of  twelve. 
He  first  heard  the  gospel  through  Rev.  Nasar 
Ali,  and,  along  with  his  wife,  professed  Chris- 


Idolatry 
in  the 
Home 


272  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Lives 

Invested 


tianity,  and  soon  entered  the  Christian  Train- 
ing Institute.” 

Other  names  could  be  added,  other  stories 
could  be  told,  of  some  in  the  rank  and  file  of 
Church  membership,  of  others  in  the  minis- 
try, of  others  still,  teachers  in  the  Mission’s 
schools  or  elsewhere — of  whose  intellectual 
gifts,  leadership  and  spiritual  power,  no  Church 
need  be  ashamed.  These  ingatherings  of  the 
past  are  prophetic  of  future  triumph. 

3.  And  is  there  not  ultimate  triumph  written 
also  in  the  lives  of  faith  and  devotion  which 
have  been  given  by  the  American  Church  to  this 
spiritual  warfare.  One  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  names  are  written  upon  her  roll  of  service 
in  India.  Seventeen,  in  all,  have  passed  into 
the  presence  of  their  Lord.  Eleven  of  these 
laid  down  their  lives  in  India  and  are  buried  in 
their  field  of  labor.  Some  were  allowed  long 
years  of  honored  service,  even  rounding  out 
forty-three  years  of  work ; others  were  required 
to  answer  their  Lord’s  summons  ere  one  whole 
year  had  passed  away.  Those  lonely  graves 
across  the  sea,  or  elsewhere,  and  those  other 
lives,  too,  still  spending  and  being  spent  in  the 
King’s  service,  are  a further  pledge  of  final 
triumph,  for 


The  United  Presbyterian  Synod  of  the  Punjab 
This  picture  was  taken  at  Pathankot  in  1908. 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


273 


‘ All  through  life  I see  a cross, 

Where  sons  of  God  yield  up  their  breath : 
There  is  nd  gain  except  by  loss, 

There  is  no  life  except  by  death.” 


4.  But,  most  clearly  does  the  new  vision  of 
missionary  duty  herald  a coming  triumph. 
The  vision  which  was  lifted  at  Sialkot  on  Oc- 
tober 29,  1902, — of  actually  fulfilling  the  Lord’s 
commission  in  the  complete  evangelization  of 
that  mission  field — was  a vision  so  new,  so 
overwhelming  in  its  demands,  so  magnificent 
in  its  daring,  that  we  may  well  understand  the 
failure  of  many  to  grasp  it,  in  spite  of  the 
Church’s  official  acceptance  of  it.  Yet  that 
vision  must  be  realized.  He  who  granted  it  will 
yet  give  grace  for  its  fulfilment.  It  is  Hia 
pledge  of  final  victory. 


“ Fear  not,  we  cannot  fail ; 

The  vision  must  prevail ; 

Truth  is  the  oath  of  God,  and  sure  and  fast, 
Through  death  and  hell,  holds  onward  to  the  last.” 


UNMEASURED  HINDRANCES 

The  Past  points  to  future  triumph,  but,  be- 
tween, are  hindrances.  The  Church  has  not 
yet  fully  measured  these.  If  she  had,  she 
would  not  speak  so  glibly  about  her  missionary 
task,  as  though  it  were  a fad,  a hobby,  a holiday 
18 


The  New 
Vision 


274  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Not  the 

Remotest 

Chance 


task.  She  would  not  deal  so  triflingly  with  it, 
as  though  it  were  enough  to  give  to  it  men  or 
monies  that  were  not  wanted  at  home.  She 
would  not  let  her  successes,  which  were  just 
meant  to  keep  her  from  losing  heart,  lull  her 
to  inactivity,  as  if  the  work  were  finished. 

‘‘India  is  awake,  the  sanguine  tell  us,  mean- 
ing that  some  few  or  many — the  terms  are 
relative — of  India’s  Christians  are  awake.  Sup- 
posing all  the  Christians  in  the  land  itself  had 
awakened.  The  Christians  of  India  are  not 
India.  There  are  a hundred  millions  of  peo- 
ple in  India  to-day  who  have  not  heard  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  who,  as  things  are  now,  have 
not  the  remotest  chance  to  hear  about  Ilim. 
There  are  millions  more  who  have  heard  very 
little,  if  anything ; but,  not  counting  those, 
there  are  a hundred  millions  who  cannot  possi- 
bly hear.  The  fact  is  overwhelming.  It 
crushes  down  upon  us.  If  we  could  realize  its 
full  force  for  one  single  minute,  it  would  crush 
us  too  much.  It  would  break  our  hearts.  But 
we  do  not  realize  it.  We  speak  in  a language 
we  do  not  understand.  We  talk  of  millions. 
What  are  millions  ? When  we  stop  and  try 
to  lay  hold  upon  the  word,  and  make  it  open 
to  us,  it  closes  up  or  slips  away,  and  we  catch 
elusive  glimpses  of  it;  that  is  all.” 

So  let  us  look  at  just  a part  of  India’s  need, 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


275 


our  part.  There,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Himalayas,  are  our  five  millions.  Some  four- 
teen thousand  of  them  have  been  brought  to 
Christ  and  into  His  Church;  to  be  exact,  one 
in  357  of  the  population.  In  our  own  land, 
one  in  four  is  a Church  member,  so  the  need 
yonder  is  ninety  times  the  need  here,  numeri- 
cally. Let  us  not  forget  that. 

And  yonder  are  forty  ordained  ministers — 23 
foreign  missionaries,  carrying  much  other  work, 
and  17  native  ministers — to  shepherd  the  Chris- 
tians and  reach  the  unreached.  That  is  one 
teacher  for  every  355  Christians.  Do  the  Chris- 
tians of  our  own  Church  in  America  need  so 
much  more  instruction  in  righteousness  that 
we  should  give  them  a pastor  for  every  184 
members,  and  an  ordained  minister  for  every 
13 1 members  ? 

Or  let  us  count  in  all  the  regular  foreign 
missionaries  under  appointment,  men  and  wo- 
men (wives  excepted),  and  all  the  ordained 
native  ministers  and  the  licentiates.  This  is 
the  force  of  leaders  available  for  the  winning 
of  our  section  of  India  to  Christ — one  hundred 
and  two,  in  all.  And  this  is  a liberal  count, 
for  many  of  these  are  compelled  to  do  work 
which  is  quite  special  and  local;  they  are  not 
strictly  available  for  general  missionary  work. 
One  hundred  and  two — that  gives  every  worker 


Our 

Definite 

Responsi- 

bility 


A Parish  of 

Forty 

Thousand 


276 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


The  Field. 

Outline  map  of  the  United  Presbyte- 
rian mission  field ; the  larger  spots 
represent  central  stations,  and  the 
smaller,  out-stations. 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


277 


jHHHmaaiiHfiHm 


TSSSSBSSSSSSljI 


sssssassss. 


278  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Caste 


a parish  of  just  about  40,000  souls.  In  our 
own  home  land  there  is  need,  unmet,  neglected 
need,  but  is  it  for  lack  of  workers  ? There  are 
98,272  evangelical  Protestant  ministers  in  the 
United  States.  Each  of  these  trained  work- 
ers— nor  have  we  counted,  in  this  case,  women 
or  licentiates,  but  only  ordained  men — has  an 
average  parish  of  776  souls.  And  when  we  say 
that  yonder  the  average  parish  is  40,000  souls 
— fifty-one  times  the  home'  parish — have  we 
measured  the  need? 

No,  the  hindrances  to  final  triumph  are  still 
unmeasured.  You  must  not  merely  count  them, 
you  must  weigh  them..  And  who  has  found 
their  weight ; the  weight  measurement  of  Caste, 
for  example  ? “ We  have,”  writes  a missionary 
in  India,  “ the  branch-rooted  system  of  Caste ; 
Caste  so  intricate,  so  precise,  that  no  Western 
lives  who  has  traced  it  through  its  ramifica- 
tions back  to  the  bough  from  which  it  dropped 
in  the  olden  days. 

“ This  Caste,  then,  these  holding  laws,  which 
most  would  rather  die  than  break,  are  like  the 
branch  roots  of  the  banyan  tree  with  their  in- 
finite strength  of  grip.  But  the  strangest  thing 
to  us  is  this : the  people  love  to  have  it  so,  they 
do  not  regard  themselves  as  held ; these  roots 
are  their  pride  and  joy.  Take  a child  of  four 
or  five,  ask  it  a question  concerning  its  Caste, 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


279 


and  you  will  see  how  the  baby  tree  has  begun 
to  drop  branch  rootlets  down.  Sixty  years 
afterwards  look  again,  and  every  rootlet  has 
grown  a tree,  each  sending  rootlets  down ; and 
so  the  system  spreads. 

“ But  we  look  up  from  the  banyan  tree. 
God ! what  are  these  roots  to  Thee  ? The 
Caste-root  systems  are  nothing  to  Thee ! India 
is  not  too  hard  for  Thee.  0,  God,  come !” 

Ignorance,  too,  is  a hindrance  to  be  weighed 
by  the  Church  and  her  missionaries.  Those 
who  have  labored  in  districts  where  not  one  in 
two  thousand  can  read,  know  how  oppressive 
India’s  illiteracy  is.  You  cannot  reach  such 
classes  by  the  printed  page.  You  must  have  a 
living  messenger  who  will  carry  to  them  the 
living  Word.  And  he  must  go  to  them  often, 
lest  they  forget,  not  having  the  written  mes- 
sage. 

The  awful  weight  of  immorality  must  also 
be  reckoned  with.  It  cannot  be  described.  No 
full  and  truthful  description  of  common  life 
in  India  could  be  printed.  First,  it  would  not 
be  understood,  and  further,  it  would  not  be 
permitted.  This  immorality  is  pervasive  in 
India.  It  rules,  undisputed,  in  heathen  India. 
It  fills  the  air.  It  blows  about  like  a malarial 
atmosphere  around  the  Christian  Church  and 
the  missionary’s  home ; only  the  Spirit’s  watch- 


280  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Spcret  of 
Delay 


ful  vigil  and  divine  omnipotence  can  cast  it 
out  and  keep  it  out. 

And  it  is  sanctioned  by  religion.  That  is 
the  worst  feature  of  it.  It  is  not  an  accident. 
It  is  a religious  life,  a religious  symbolism. 
And  it  is  cruel.  “ Married  to  the  God  ” is  a 
chapter  out  of  Indian  life.  “ Leave  this  chap- 
ter,” said  one  who  tried  to  write  it,  “ if  you 
want  ‘ something  to  read hold  your  fingei 
in  the  flame  of  a candle  if  you  want  to  know 
what  it  is  like  to  write  it.  If  you  will  do  this, 
then  you  will  know  something  of  the  burning 
at  heart  every  missionary  goes  through  who 
has  to  see  the  sort  of  thing  I have  to  write 
about.  . . . But  perhaps  one  cares  too 

much ; it  is  only  about  a little  girl.” 

Has  no  one  measured  these  hindrances, 
counted  them  and  weighed  them  ? Yes,  God 
has.  He  has  measured  them  all  with  the  pa- 
tience of  His  love  and  He  will  measure  them 
anew  with  the  power  of  His  grace.  But  the 
Church  must  measure  them,  too.  And  some 
are  measuring  these  hindrances  with  their  lives. 

BEACHING  THE  GOAL 

It  is  not  really  these  hindrances,  however, 
that  keep  the  Church  from  reaching  the  goal. 
Neither  is  Christ’s  triumph  delayed  by  any 


Famine  Children 

Miss  Emma  D.  Anderson,  seated  in  the  center,  personally  visited  the  famine 
district  and  rescued  these  children. 


Girls’  Industrial  Home 

This  institution  is  located  at  Pasrur,  To  give  practical  training  in  house- 
keeping, the  children  are  grouped,  each  group  constituting  a fam- 
ily. Here  are  four  such  families  seated  in  front 
of  their  respective  cottages. 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


28! 


limitation  of  His  power,  nor  by  heathen  India’s 
power  of  opposition,  but  by  causes  to  be  found 
wholly  within  His  Church.  He  waits  solely 
because  He  has  not  yet  found  men  who  are 
willing  to  take  His  thought,  willing  to  receive 
His  life  and  power,  and  willing  to  do  His 
work.  If  He  could  get  these  human  lives,  He 
could  quickly  carry  out  His  plans,  usher  in 
the  final  triumph,  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul 
and  be  satisfied.  Until  He  gets  them,  He  will 
wait  and  plead.  That  is  His  plan. 

1.  Christ  needs  men  who  will  take  His 
thought.  This  is  imperative.  The  men  whom 
He  can  use  must  follow,  not  their  own  thought, 
not  the  thought  of  friends,  not  the  thought  of 
the  world,  but  His  thought.  And  His  thought, 
first  of  all,  of  what  life  is  for.  Life  a mission, 
not  a career.  Life  a ministry  to  others’  need, 
not  a field  for  selfish  activities.  Then,  too, 
they  must  take  His  thought  for  themselves. 
What  He  would  have  them  be ; where  He  would 
have  them  go;  what  He  would  have  them  do. 
True,  His  yoke  is  easy  and  His  burden  is  light, 
but  His  insistence  upon  the  sovereignity  of  His 
will  is  inexorable.  Otherwise,  He  cannot  use 
the  life. 

Christ’s  man  must  also  take  Christ’s  thought 
for  the  world.  Many  fail  at  this  point.  They 
do  not  have  Christ’s  world  vision.  They  hold 


Christ’s 

Thought 


Narrow 

Horizons 


282  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


Almost 

Accomp- 

lished 


that  narrow  thought  of  the  world  to  which  they 
were  born  or  which  others  about  them  hold. 
They  are  sincere  and  earnest  in  much  that  they 
do,  but  they  are  men  of  narrow  horizon.  Their 
held  is  not  the  world.  They  have  “ township 
minds.”  Their  vision  is  provincial,  at  best 
national,  but  not  world-wide.  Narrow  vision 
leads  to  narrow  sympathies,  narrow  prayers, 
narrow  activities.  Christ  cannot  save  them 
from  all  this,  save  as  they  take  His  thought  of 
the  world,  His  thought  of  a far-reaching  King- 
dom, including  America,  but  reaching  even  to 
India’s  most  northern  borders. 

Christ’s  thought  for  this  world  is,  that  it 
shall  be  evangelized.  That  was  His  plan  fifty- 
seven  generations  ago.  He  spoke  His  thought 
to  those  about  Him  before  He  went  away:  “ Go 
ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature.”  “ Go  ” did  not  mean  “ Stay.” 
“ Ye  ” did  not  mean  “ Not  you,  but  others,” 
“ All  the  world  ” did  not  mean  “ Some  small 
section  of  the  world.”  “ Preach  the  Gospel  ” 
did  not  just  mean  “ Enjoy  the  Gospel.”  Christ 
meant  what  He  said,  else  He  would  have  ex- 
pressed His  thought  differently. 

Those  early  disciples  understood  their  Lord. 
One  who  is  perhaps  the  greatest  living  author- 
ity on  conditions  in  those  early  days,  says,  “ It 
was  characteristic  of  this  religion  that  every 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


2S3 


one  who  seriously  confessed  the  faith  proved 
of  service  to  its  propaganda.  We  cannot  hesi- 
tate to  believe  that  the  great  mission  of  Chris- 
tianity was  in  reality  accomplished  by  means 
of  informal  missionaries.”  And  those  early 
disciples  came  so  near  realizing  the  thought 
of  their  Lord.  They  almost  did  the  thing. 
They  even  got  to  the  borders  of  India,  as  we 
saw  in  an  earlier  chapter.  But  somewhere, 
somehow,  there  was  failure,  either  failure  to 
hold  to  Christ’s  thought  or  failure  to  use  His 
power  for  the  realization  of  His  thought.  And 
thus  fifty-six  generations  have  passed,  and  the 
thing  which  Christ  intended  should  have  been 
done  almost  two  thousand  years  ago,  is  not  yet 
done. 

But  it  is  still  His  plan,  that  the  world  should 
be  evangelized.  That  must  come  first.  There 
may  be,  there  surely  are,  other  things  which 
He  wants  done  or  which  He  Himself  will  do, 
but  these  will  come  afterward.  First  must  be 
evangelization,  that  all  may  hear  the  Gospel. 
And  He  wants  men  who  will  take  this  His 
thought  for  the  world  and  hold  fast  to  it,  teach 
it  to  others,  preach  it  undiscouragedly  to  the 
Church,  and,  above  all,  live  it. 

If  Christ  has  this  thought  for  the  world,  it 
must  also  be  His  plan  for  India.  He  is  speak- 
ing His  thought  for  India  so  clearly  in  these 


Voice* 

Which 

Speak 


284 


FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA1 


days.  He  speaks  it  in  the  souls  that  pass  into 
eternity  every  year,  without  Him.  Four  hun- 
dred and  eleven,  every  day,  in  our  own  mission 
field  alone;  more  than  twenty-four  thousand, 
every  day,  in  all  India ! He  speaks  His  thought, 
too,  in  the  new  day  which  has  dawned  in  India. 
Hear  that  cry,  Bande  Mataram ; it  is  the  cry  of 
patriotism  and  of  national  consciousness,  often 
confused  and  debased,  yet  becoming  more  clear 
and  loud  every  year.  Hear  the  eulogies  of  the 
Christ  character  which  come  from  Brahmo 
Somaj  leaders,  such  as  that  of  Kesliub  Chun- 
der  Sen,  “ Jesus,  Who  by  His  wisdom  illumined 
a dark  world,  Who  rescued  it  by  His  power, 
whose  blood  has  wrought  such  miracles  for  eigh- 
teen hundred  years,  was  He  not  lifted  high 
above  the  rest  of  mankind!  Blessed  Jesus! 
Deathless  Child  of  God ! He  lived  and  died 
for  the  world ! May  the  world  learn  to  honor 
Him.”  See  the  new  alignment  of  the  forces 
opposing  Christianity ; they  are  being  driven 
from  their  old  entrenchments.  Look  again  at 
the  mass  movements  toward  Christianity.  See 
the  Pentecostal  revivals  experienced  by  the 
Church  in  India.  What  are  all  these,  but 
voices,  which,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  ex- 
press Christ’s  thought  for  India,  that  India 
should  he  given  His  Gospel,  the  only  Gospel  that 
can  meet  her  need. 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


285 


2.  Christ  also  needs  men  who  will  receive 
His  life  and  poiver.  Without  these,  His  thought 
will  be  useless  to  them ; a mere  theory  or  an  un- 
attainable ideal.  But  if  Christ’s  thought  is  to 
become  an  ever  unfolding  reality  in  their  lives, 
they  must  receive  His  life  and  power.  “ Apart 
from  Me  ye  can  do  nothing,”  is  His  own  word 
to  them.  He  wished  to  warn  them  against  the 
subtle  temptation  of  trying  to  originate  power, 
of  attempting  to  generate  life.  Their  duty  is 
to  transmit,  to  he  “ channels,  not  chalices.” 
Some,  even,  who  have  received  from  Christ  His 
world  vision,  have  failed  through  neglect  of 
this  warning.  Lives  that  Christ  could  use 
mightily  in  ministries  of  intercession,  of  preach, 
ing,  of  stewardship,  even  of  foreign  mission- 
ary service,  are  to-day  weak,  impoverished,  in- 
effective, because  they  are  not  in  touch  with 
the  only  source  of  real  and  abundant  power; 
they  are  not  receiving  into  their  lives,  daily, 
His  life  and  power.  But,  thank  God,  there 
are  others  who  have  learned  this  lesson  of 
simple  abiding  in  Christ  and  of  transmission. 
Many  of  them  are  not  gifted  lives,  nor  lives  of 
great  capacities;  but  they  have  brought  untold 
quickening,  imparted  incalculable  blessing, 
communicated  priceless  divine  truth,  organized 
daring  enterprises,  by  simply  keeping  in  such 
touch  with  their  Lord  that  His  life  was  ever 


Christ’s 
Life  and 
Power 


286  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


theirs  and  His  power  was  ever  flowing  through 
them.  The  strength  of  such  lives  was  in  their 
cry  to  their  Lord: 

“ I am  an  emptiness  for  Thee  to  fill, 

My  soul  a cavern  for  Thy  sea  . . . 

I have  done  naught  for  Thee,  am  but  a Want.” 

3.  Finally,  Christ  needs  men  who  will  do 
His  work.  We  are  thinking  of  India.  This 
means,  therefore,  men  who  will  do  His  work 
for  India. 

Some  of  that  work  is  'prayer.  That,  too,  is 
work.  Recall  the  words  of  J.  Hudson  Taylor, 
“If  we  are  simply  to  pray  to  the  extent  of  a 
single  and  pleasant  and  enjoyable  exercise,  and 
know  nothing  of  watching  in  prayer,  and  of 
weariness  in  prayer,  we  shall  not  draw  down 
the  blessing  that  we  may.  We  shall  not  sustain 
our  missionaries  who  are  overwhelmed  with  the 
appalling  darkness  of  heathenism.”  And 
prayer  is  work,  not  only  in  the  sense  of  what 
it  costs,  but  also  in  the  sense  of  what  it  does. 
It  does  things.  At  the  death  of  a missionary 
leader,  it  was  said,  “ He  prayed  up  the  walls 
of  a hospital  and  the  hearts  of  the  nurses ; lie 
prayed  mission  stations  into  being  and  mission- 
aries into  faith ; he  prayed  open  the  hearts  of 
the  rich,  and  gold  from  the  most  distant  lands.” 
Christ  needs  men  of  prayer  through  whom  He 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


287 


may  work  after  that  same  fashion  for  India. 
He  has  had  some  such,  as  the  revival  experiences 
of  our  Mission  will  show,  but  He  needs  more 
such.  And  these  do  not  need  to  be  in  India. 
They  can  work  for  India  though  laboring, 
under  the  orders  of  their  King,  in  America. 
Then  will  new  laborers  be  thrust  into  the  har- 
vest fields ; then  will  money  be  found  to  main- 
tain and  enlarge  the  missionary  operations ; 
then  will  deliverances  be  multiplied  by  unex- 
pected providences ; then  will  missionary  prob- 
lems he  solved  and  workers  see  eye  to  eye ; then 
will  the  native  Church  be  cleansed  unto  sancti- 
fication and  be  baptized  unto  service ; then  will 
revivals  break  forth  in  every  dry  and  barren 
place;  then  will  political  movements  serve  just 
as  scaffolding  for  the  building  of  the  Kingdom ; 
then  will  be  hastened  the  day  of  complete 
triumph. 

In  some  places,  Christ’s  work  has  halted  for 
lack  of  men  who  will  do  His  work  of  giving. 
He  came  “ from  heaven  to  Calvary  ” to  give  to 
earth  the  richest  store  of  heaven,  Redemption. 
Rut  there  is  other  giving,  and  of  that  He  says, 
“ I am  no  longer  in  the  world  but  ye  are  in  the 
world.”  How  He  has  had  to  wait  for  men  who 
will  do  His  work  of  giving,  of  giving  out  of 
what  He  himself  has  given  them ! He  has 
found  for  Himself  a few  such  men  and  women, 


288  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


and  these  have  discovered  that  this  work  of 
giving,  even  where  it  cuts  in  upon  their  own 
convenience  and  comfort,  is  not  a sacrifice  but 
a privilege. 

The  day  is  coming  when  Christ  will  find 
more  such  men,  who  have  the  gifts  of  wise 
stewardship  and  financial  administration. 
Young  men  of  distinct  business  talents  will  give 
these  talents  to  Him,  to  make  money  for  the 
financing  of  His  enterprise.  With  the  same 
unselfishness  and  surrender  and  sacrifice  with 
which  their  brothers  volunteer  to  go  to  the 
foreign  field,  these  will  stay  at  home,  surren- 
dering all  selfish  ambition  for  wealth,  but  im- 
proving every  legitimate  opportunity  and  using 
every  God-given  faculty  for  business,  that  by 
the  financial  fruitage  of  their  labors  the  King- 
dom of  Christ  may  be  served.  Yes,  Christ 
needs  such  men. 

But  there  must  be  also  those  who  will  do 
Christ’s  work  of  going.  Over  one  hundred 
have  already  gone  to  the  mission  field  in  t 
northern  India  of  which  we  have  been  writing. 
One  hundred  and  eighty  more  are  wanted, 
needed,  to-day,  to  carry  through  the  unfinished 
task. 

To  some  it  is  India’s  need  that  has  voiced  to 
them  the  call  of  their  Lord.  One  Church  mem- 
ber here  to  three  who  are  not;  and  there,  one 


FINAL  TRIUMPH 


289 


Church  member  to  356  who  are  not.  It  is 
not  hard  to  find  the  place  of  greatest  need.  One 
Christian  minister  here  to  every  776  of  the 
population;  and  there,  one  missionary,  native 
or  foreign,  to  every  40,000  of  our  mission  field. 
Is  it  hard  to  say  where  the  greatest  need  is  ? 
It  was  this  motive  that  wrought  upon  the  heart 
of  Robert  McClure.  He  stood  at  life’s  thres- 
hold with  rare  musical  gifts,  and  friends  bade 
him  stay,  but  he  said,  “ When  I heard  of  these 
poor  people  suffering  as  they  are  in  this  life, 
and  with  no  hope  for  a life  eternal,  how  could 
I continue  to  amuse  myself  and  my  friends  with 
my  profession.” 

If  some  are  hindered  by  the  thought,  so  often 
used  to  thwart  Christ’s  will  for  men,  that  their 
gifts  are  too  rare  to  be  thrown  away  upon  the 
foreign  field,  let  one  of  India’s  missionaries 
make  answer : 

“ I have  known  cases  of  young  ministers  dis- 
suaded from  facing  the  missionary  call  by  those 
who  posed  as  friends  of  Foreign  Missions,  and 
yet  presume  to  argue : ‘ Your  spiritual  power 

and  intellectual  attainments  are  needed  by  the 
Church  at  home ; they  would  be  wasted  in  the 
foreign  field.’  ‘ Spiritual  power  wasted  ’ in  a 
land  like  India ! Where  is  it  so  sorely  needed 
as  in  a continent  where  Satan  has  constructed 
his  strongest  fortresses  and  displayed  the 
19 


290  FAR  NORTH  IN  INDIA 


choicest  masterpieces  of  his  skill  ? ‘Intellectual 
ability  wasted  ’ among  a people  whose  scholars 
smile  inwardly  at  the  ignorance  of  the  average 
Western ! Brothers,  if  God  is  calling  you,  be 
not  deterred  by  flimsy  subterfuges  such  as  these. 
You  will  need  the  powers  of  God  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  make  you  an  efficient  missionary. 
You  will  find  your  reputation  for  scholarship 
put  to  the  severest  test  in  India.  Here  is  ample 
scope  alike  for  men  of  approved  spiritual  power 
and  for  intellectual  giants.  And  so  I repeat,  if 
God  is  calling  you,  buckle  on  your  sword,  come 
to  the  fight,  and  win  your  spurs  among  the 
cultured  sons  of  India.” 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX  I.—Census  Statistics  of  India,  1901 


292 


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APPENDIX  II.— Statistics  for  United  Presbyterian  Mission  Field 


APPENDIX  II 


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APPENDIX  III. 

Statistics  of  the  “ Sialkot  Mission” 

(United  Presbyterian),  January  1,  1908 


I.  FIELD. 

Number  of  square  miles 24,223 

Total  population 5,075,000 

Total  number  of  cities 35 

Total  number  of  villages 9,339 

Number  of  cities  and  villages  in  which  there  are  Chris- 
tians   919 

Total  Christian  community  (including  Communicants, 

Baptized  Children  and  Catechumens) 26,122 

II.  WORKERS. 

1.  AMERICAN — Ordained  Missionaries*. ...  22 

Professors  in  College* 1 

Women  Missionaries,  Mar- 
ried*  23 

Women  Missionaries,  Un- 
married*   35 

Medical  Missionaries,  Wo- 
men*   3 

Medical  Missionary,  Man.*  1 

Lay  Missionary 1 


Foreign  Missionaries  under 

regular  appointment 86 

Assistant  Teachers 3 


Total  Foreign  Workers. ...  89 

*Whether  on  the  field  or  on  furlough. 

294 


APPENDIX  III 


295 


2.  INDIAN — Ordained  Ministers 26 

Licentiates 14 

Theological  Students 13 

Colporteurs 15 

Bible  Women 26 

Medical  Assistants 31 

Christian  Teachers 189 

Other  Christian  Workers Ill 


Total  number  of  Indian  Chris- 
tian Workers 424 

Other  Workers 197 

Total  number  of  Workers, 

American  and  Indian 710 

III.  CHURCHES. 

Total  number  of  organized  congregations 33 

Total  number  of  unorganized  circles 76 

Number  of  places  where  regular  services  are  held  ....  255 

Number  of  congregations  self-supporting 15 

Number  of  congregations  having  pastors 15 

Total  membership 14,202 

Increase  by  profession 1,655 

“ by  certificate  and  restoration 1,892 

3,547 

Decrease  by  death 659 

“ by  removal  and  suspension 1,401 

2,060 


Netincrease 1,487 

Number  of  adult  baptisms 1,529 

“ of  infant  baptisms 1,210 


Total  baptisms 


2,739 


296 


APPENDIX  III 


Contributions  to  Missions $ 444 

“ Pastors’  salaries 1,124 

“ Synod  and  Presbytery  Funds..  109 

“ General  purposes 1,335 


Total  contributions $3,012 

IV.  SABBATH  SCHOOLS. 

Number  of  Sabbath  Schools 151 

“ teachers 271 

Total  number  of  pupils  in  Sabbath  Schools 7,049 

Contributions $ 245 

V.  MISSION  BUILDINGS. 

Number  of  dwelling  houses  for  missionaries 31 

“ other  dwelling  houses ....  14 

“ church  buildings  45 

“ parsonages  and  workers’  houses 56 

“ school  buildings 55 

“ other  buildings 33 

Native  contributions  to  building  work $65 

VI.  SCHOOLS. 

Number  of  Theological  Seminaries >.  1 

“ Colleges 1 

“ High  Schools  for  boys 4 

“ High  Schools  for  girls 1 

“ Middle  Schools  for  boys 3 

“ Middle  Schools  for  girls 2 

“ Industrial  Schools  for  boys  ......  1 

“ Industrial  Schools  for  girls 1 

“ Primary  Schools  for  boys 152 

“ Primary  Schools  for  girls 12 


Total  number  of  schools 


178 


APPENDIX  III 


297 


Number  of  students  in  Theological  Seminary..  15 

“ students  in  College 59 

“ boys  in  high  schools 4,359 

“ girls  in  high  school 101 


Total  number  of  pupils  in  high  schools 4,460 

Number  of  boys  in  middle  schools •.  403 

“ girls  in  middle  schools 641 


Total  number  of  pupils  in  middle  schools. . . . 1,044 

Number  of  boys  in  industrial  schools 114 

“ girls  in  industrial  schools 136 


Total  number  of  pupils  in  industrial  schools..  250 

Number  of  boys  in  primary  schools 3,410 

“ girls  in  primary  schools 579 


Total  number  of  pupils  in  primary  schools. . . 3,989 

Total  number  of  pupils  in  all  schools  9,817 

Total  number  of  Christian  pupils  in  all 

schools 2, 385 

Number  of  teachers,  men 334 

“ teachers,  women 52 


Total  number  of  native  teachers 386 

Number  of  missionaries  engaged  chiefly  in  edu- 

ucational  work,  Men 7 

Women  7 

Number  of  short  term  teachers  and  European 

instructors 3 


Total  missionary  force  in  school  work 17 

Total  teaching  force  403 

Amount  received  in  fees  $ 8, 227 

Amount  received  in  Government  aid 11,346 

Amount  earned  in  industrial  schools 2,533 


298 


APPENDIX  III 


MEDICAL  WORK  VII. 


Number  of  Hospitals 2 

“ Beds 121 

“ In-patients 865 

N umber  of  operations  : 

Major 134 

Minor 889 

Total  operations 1,023 

Number  of  Dispensaries 7 

“ Out-patients: 

New  44,322 

Return  visits 51,812 

Total  attendance  at  dispensaries 96,134 

Amount  received  in  fees $886 

Amount  received  in  Government  aid  from  local 

subscriptions $1, 045 

VIII.  BIBLE  WORK. 

Number  of  Colporteurs 15 

“ Bible  women 26 

Amount  received  from  sale  of  Books $602 


IX.  FINANCIAL  SUMMARY. 

Amounts  received  from  the  Indian  church  and 
people  for  the  following  different  depart- 


: ments  of  the  work 

For  church  work  ....•••• $3,012 

For  building  work 65 

For  school  work 8,227 

For  medical  wrork 886 

For  book  work 602 


Total  amount  received $12,792 


APPENDIX  IV. 

Rules  for  Pronunciation  of  the  Words  in 
the  Glossary. 

Vowels  and  Diphthongs  : 


a 

has  the  sound  of 

u,  as 

in  but. 

a 

U 

a a 

a 

a,  “ 

“ arm. 

a 

it 

a a 

u 

a,  “ 

“ hat. 

e 

a 

a a 

a 

e,  “ 

“ they. 

i 

a 

a tt 

a 

i,  “ 

“ pin. 

i 

it 

a a 

a 

i,  “ 

“ machine. 

o 

a 

a a 

u 

o,  “ 

“ note. 

6 

i< 

a a 

a 

o,  “ 

“ not. 

u 

a 

u a 

« 

u,  “ 

“ full. 

u 

a 

a a 

<< 

66,  “ 

“ boot. 

ai 

u 

a a 

a 

ai,  “ 

“ aisle. 

au  “ 

u a 

n 

ou,  “ 

“ out. 

The  consonant  sounds  of  Urdu  can  be  pro- 
duced only  by  the  tongue  trained  in  the  use  of 
that  language,  so  no  attempt  is  made  in  this 
appendix  to  indicate  any  Urdu  equivalent  for  the 
English  consonants  used. 


299 


APPENDIX  V. 

Glossary. 


Note. — The  diacritical  marks  in  this  glossary  are  according  to 
the  rules  in  Appendix  IV.  Special  attention  is  called  to  the  fact 
that  the  unmarked  “a”  is  pronounced  as  short  “u.” 

Where  names  have  become  Anglicized,  the  Anglicized  pro- 
nunciation is  given. 


Abdullah 

Afghan 

Afghanistan 

Ahmadiya 

Akbar 

Allah 

Amritsar 

Anando  Chander 
Banerjee 

Arya 

Aryan 

Asoka 

Atharva 

Attock 

ab-dul'-la 

af-gan 

af-gan"-is-tan' 

S-mad-i'-ya 

ak'-bar 

il'-la 

am-rit'-sar 
an-an'-do  Chan'-dar 
Ban'-ar-jl 

Sr'-ya 

Sr'-yan 

as-o'-ka 

at-ar'-va 

at'-tack 

Baba 

Baber 

ba'-ba 

ba'-bar 

300 

APPENDIX  V 


301 


Bal  Krishan 

Balochi 

Bala  Shah 

Bande  mataram 

Beas 

Be-iman 

Bhajna 

Bishnoi 

Brahma 

Brahman 

Brahmana 

Brahmo 

Cantonment 
Cawnpore 
Chandra  Gupta 
Charas 
Chenab 

Dak 

Delhi 

Dhammapada 

Dhariwal 

Ditt 

Dravidian 

Fakir 

Farghana 

Ghazni 


bal-krish'-an 

ba-lo'-chl 

ba'-la-sha 

ban'-de  ma'-ta-ram 

bl-as' 

be'M-man' 

baj'-na 

bish-no'-I 

bra'-ma 

bra'-man 

bra'-ma-na 

bra'-mo 

can-to&n'-ment 

can'-pur 

chan'-dra  Gup'-ta 

char'-as 

chan'-ab' 

dak 

de'-ll 

dam-ma-pa'-da 

dar"-I-wal' 

dit 

dra-vid'-I-an 

fa-klr' 

far-ga'-na 

gaz-ni' 


302  APPENDIX  V 


Goa 

Gopinath  Nundy 

Granth 

Gujranwala 

Gurdaspur 

Guru 

Gurmukhi 

Hadith  (Hadis) 
Harnam  Singh 
Himalayan 
Hindi 
Hukam 
Hurmat  Khan 

Indra 

Jain 

Jandaran 

Jauhari 

Jawahir  Masih 
Jhelum 

Kadiyan 

Kaku 

Kanaya 

Karachi 

Karait 

Kashmir 

Kashmiri 


go'-a 

go"-pl-nath'  nan' 
grant 

guj"-ran~wa'-la 

gur-das-'pur 

gu'-ru 

gur-mu'-kl 

ha'-dith 
har-nam'  sing 
hi-ma'-la-yan 
hin;-di 
huk'-am 
hur'-mat  kan 

in'-dra 

jain 

jan"-dar-an' 
jau-ha'-ri 
ja-wa'-hir  ma-sP 
jeMum 

ka'-di-yan 

ka'-ku 

ka-na'-ya 

ka-ra'-chl 

ka-rait' 

kSsh-mir' 

kash-mP-rf 


APPENDIX  V 


303 


Keshub  Chander  Sen. 

Khilji 

Khyber 

Kirarki 

Koran 

Krishna  Mohan 
Baneijee 
Kshatria 

Lahore 

Lahnda 

Lai  Behari  Day 
Lucknow 
Ludhiana 
Lyallpur 

Madras 

Mahajani 

Mahabharata 

Mahmud 

Malabar 

Mallu 

Manu 

Marathi 

Margala 

Martinpur 

Meg 

Milapur 

Mirza  Ahmad 


kesh'-ub  chan'-dar  sen 

kil'-jl 

kai'-bar 

kir-ar'-kl 

ko-ran' 

krish'-na  mo'-han 
Ban'-nar-jl 
kshat'-rl-a 

la-hor' 

lin'-da 

lal  bi-ha'-ri-de 
lack'-nou 
lu"-di-a,-na 
lai'-al-pur 

ma-dris' 

ma-ha'-ja-nl 

ma^-ha-ba'-ra-ta 

ma-mud' 

mal"-a-bar' 

mal'-lu 

ma'-nu 

ma-ra'-tl 

mar-ga'-la 

mar'-tin-ptir 

meg 

mll'-a-pur 
mir'-za  am'-ad 


304  APPENDIX  Y 


Mirali 

Mirzaite 

Mlechcha 

Nanak  Shah 
Nasar  Ali 

Padri 

Pahari 

Palkhu 

Panchayat 

Paravas 

Pariah 

Parsee 

Pasrur 

Pathankote 

Peshawar 

Pipo 

Porus 

Prakrit 

Purana 

Pushto 

Raja 

Rajasthani 
Rajaswala 
Rajputana 
Ra  may  ana 
Ram  Bhajan 
Ranjit  Singh 


mir-a'-li 

mir'-za-ait 

mlech'-a 

na'-nak  sha 
na'-sar  al'-I 

pad'-ri 

pa-har'-I 

pal'-ku 

panch-a'-yat 

par'-a-vas 

par'-I-a 

par-si 

pas-rur' 

pa-tan '-kot 

pa-shau'-ar 

pl'-po 

por'-us 

pra'-krit 

pur-a'-na 

push'-to 

ra'-ja 

ra-jas'-tha-ni 
ra'-jas-vva-la’ 
raj"-pu-ta'-na 
ra-ma'-ya-na 
ram  ba'-jan 
ran-jit'  sing 


APPENDIX  V 


305 


Ravi 

Rawal  Pindi 
Rig 
Rishi 
Rupee 

Sahib 

Sahiba 

Sangla 

Sirdar 

Sargodha 

Satyarath  Prakash 

Scottgarh 

Serampore 

Shah  Jehan 

Shanan 

Sindh 

Sita 

Somaj 

Subuktagin 

Sudra 

Sutlej 

Sutra 

Swami 

Taj  Mahal 
Tamil 
Tamerlane 
Tanjore 


ra'-vl 

ra'-wal  pin'-dl 
rig 

rl'-shi 

ru-pl' 

sa'-hib 

sa'-hib-a 

sang'-la 

sar-dar' 

sar-go'-da 

sat-yar'-at  pra-kash' 

scot-gar' 

sar"-am-pur' 

sha  ja-han' 

shan'-an 

sind 

Si'-ta 

so-maj' 

su-buk"-ta-gIn, 
su'-dra 
sut'-lej  l 
su'-tra 
swa'-ml 

taj  ma-hal' 
ta'-mil 
tam-ar-len' 
tan-j6r' 


20 


306  APPENDIX  V 


Tankri 

Taxila 

Tehsil 

Tehsildar 

Telegu 

Thakur  Das 

Travancore 

Tughlak 

Urdu 

Vaisya 

Veda 

Vedic 

Vishnu 

Wazirabad 

Yajur 

Zenana 

Zafarwal 


tank'-ri 

tax'-i-la 

tai-sll' 

tai-sll-dar' 

te'-le-gu 

ta'-kur  das 

trav'^an-kCr' 

tug-lak' 

ur'-du 

vais'-ya 

ve'-da 

ved'-ic 

vish'-nu 

wa-zlP'-a-bad' 

yaj'-ur 

za-na'-na 

za"-far-wal/ 


APPENDIX  VI. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


HISTORICAL. 

Dutt,  R.  C.,  Ancient  India.  Longmans,  Green  & Co.,  New 
York,  $1.00. 

Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  Vol.  xii,  art.  India  (Sir  W.  W. 
Hunter). 

Hunter,  Sir  W.  W.,  Brief  History  of  the  Indian  Peoples. 

Charles  Scribner’s  Sons,  New  York,  90c.  net. 

Wheeler,  J.  Talboys,  Short  History  of  India.  Macmillan  & Co. ; 
New  York,  $3.50. 

RELIGIONS. 

Jones,  J.  P.,  India’s  Problem  : Krishna  or  Christ  F.  H.  Rev- 
ell  Co.,  New  York,  $1.50. 

Kellogg,  S.  H.,  A Handbook  of  Comparative  Religions.  Stu- 
dent Volunteer  Movement,  New  York,  75c. 

Mitchell,  J.  Murray,  The  Great  Religions  of  India.  F.  H 
Revell  Co.,  New  York  $1.50. 

Wherry,  E.  M.,  Islam  and  Christianity  in  India  and  the  Fa 
East.  F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York. 

GENERAL. 

Barnes,  Irene  H.,  Behind  the  Pardah.  Marshall  Bros.,  Lon- 
don, 3s.  6d. 

Beach,  H.  P.,  India  and  Christian  Opportunity.  Student  Vol- 
unteer Movement,  New  York,  50c. 

307 


808 


APPENDIX  VI 


Campbell,  Mary  J.,  One  Hundred  Girls  of  India.  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  15c. 

Campbell,  Mary  J.,  Daughters  of  India.  United  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Publication,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  35c. 

Carmichael,  Amy  Wilson,  Things  as  They  Are  : Mission  Work 
in  Southern  India.  F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York,  $1.00. 

Carmichael,  Amy  Wilson,  Overweights  of  Joy  : Mission  Work  in 
Southern  India.  F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York,  $1.00. 

Chamberlain,  Jacob,  The  Cobra’s  Den.  F.  H.  Revell  Co., 
New  York,  $1.00. 

Fuller,  M.  B,,  The  Wrongs  of  Indian  Womanhood.  F.  H. 
Revell  Co.,  New  York,  $1.25. 

Gordon,  A.,  Our  India  Mission.  United  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Publication,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  $1.50,  net. 

Guinness,  Lucy  E.,  Across  India  at  the  Dawn  of  the  Twentieth 
Century.  F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York,  $1.50. 

Hewlett,  Miss  S.  S.,  Daughters  of  the  King.  Nisbet,  London, 
5s. 

Maxwell,  Ellen  Blackmar,  The  Bishop’s  Conversion.  Eaton  & 
Mains,  New  York,  $1.50. 

Ramabai,  Pandita,  The  High-Caste  Hindu  Women.  F.  H. 
Revell  Co.,  New  York,  75c. 

Smith,  George,  Conversion  of  India.  F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  New 
York,  $1.50. 

Stewart,  R.,  Life  and  Work  in  India.  United  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Publication,  209  Ninth  St.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Thoburn,  J.  M.,  Christian  Conquest  of  India.  Young  People’s 
Missionary  Movement,  New  York,  50c. 

Wilder,  Robert  P.,  Among  India’s  Students.  F.  H.  Revell 
Co,,  New  York,  30c 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Dyer,  Helen  S.,  Pandita  Ramabai : The  Story  of  Her  Life.  F. 
H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York,  $1.25. 


APPENDIX  VI 


309 


Holcomb,  Helen  H.,  Men  of  Might  in  India  Missions.  F.  H. 
Revell  Co.,  New  York,  $1.25. 

Jackson  J.,  Mary  Reed,  Missionary  to  the  Lepers.  F.  H.  Revell 
Co.,  New  York,  75c. 

Myers,  Rev.  John  B.,  William  Carey,  the  Shoemaker  who  be- 
came “The  Father  and  Founder  of  Foreign  Missions.”  F. 
H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York,  75c. 

Smith  G.,  Henry  Martyn,  Saint  and  Scholar.  F.  H.  Revell 
Co.,  New  York,  $3.00. 

Smith,  G.,  Alexander  Duff.  Hodder  & Stoughton,  London,  6s. 
Thobum,  J.  M.,  Life  of  Isabella  Thoburn.  Eaton  & Mains, 
New  York,  $1.25. 

Various  Authors,  In  the  King’s  Service.  United  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  35c.,  cloth; 
20c.,  paper. 


I 


INDEX 


Aborigines,  Religion  of,  106. 
Ahmadiya,  126. 

Akbar,  89,  90. 

Alexander,  77,  83-85,  178. 

Allah,  118. 

American,  168. 

Animal  life,  30. 

Appeal,  166,  167,  255,  274-280. 
Area,  20;  see  Appendix  I ; 30. 
Arya  Somaj,  114-115,  130. 

Aryan,  42,  43,  51,  59,  82. 
Asceticism,  109. 

Associate  Presbyterian,  177,  179. 

Baptist,  168,  170. 

Barr,  J.  S.,  200,  209,  238. 

Basle,  170. 

Bhajna,  213-218. 

Board  of  Home  Missions,  254. 
Bibliography,  see  Appendix  VI. 
Brahma,  87,  108. 

Brahmanic  Period,  87. 

Brahmans,  50,  66. 
Brahmo-Somaj,  116. 

British  Government,  92-101,  164. 
British  Period,  92-101. 

Buddha,  85. 

Buddhistic  Period,  85-87. 
Buddhists,  87,  105. 

Calhoun,  E.,  209. 

Carey,  154-158. 

Caste,  49-53,  128,  146,  164,  228. 
Census,  see  Appendix  I. 

Chandra  Gupta,  85. 

Chenab  Canal,  34,  35,  238-240. 


Chinese,  86. 

Christians,  105;  Early,  140. 

Christian  Training  Institute,  233. 
Chuhra,  Religion  of,  130-133. 

Church  Missionary  Society,  160,  161, 
169,  170. 

Church,  199;  native  ministers,  199, 
222  ; membership,  222,  228-231 , 
236 ; organization,  232,  236,  253. 
Climate,  24. 

Clive,  92. 

Comity,  170-173. 

Congregation  alist,  168, 170. 

Converts,  198,  270. 

Cornwallis,  92. 

Country,  17—37. 

Dalhousie,  92. 

Banish  East  India  Company,  149. 
Danish  Missions,  147-154. 

Ditt,  218. 

Dominicans,  141,  142. 

Dravidian,  41,  43. 

Dress,  44-46. 

Duff,  161-167. 

East  India  Company,  92,  95,  148,  153, 
154  159. 

Educational,  64-70, 162-164, 199,  203- 
205;  205-208. 

Evangelistic,  223,  232,  240. 

Expansion  Period,  83-85. 

Famine,  253. 

Fatalism,  122. 

Franciscans,  141, 142. 


310 


INDEX 


311 


Frederick  IV,  148. 

Girls’  Boarding  School,  234,  245,  253. 
Girls’  Schools,  see  Educational. 
Glossary,  see  Appendix  V. 

Gordon,  Andrew,  181-200. 

Gordon,  J.  W.,  204,  209. 

Gordon,  Miss  E.  G.,  182,  209. 

Gordon,  Mrs.,  178. 

Government,  31,  32,  66,  69. 

Granth,  127,  128. 

Gujranwala,  222,  236. 

Gurdaspur,  222. 

Hadith,  125. 

Hill,  R.  A.,  186,  200. 

Himalayas,  21. 

Hindu,  64,  105. 

Hinduism,  106-117. 

History,  77-101. 

Home,  see  Houses. 

Houses,  46-48. 

Hunter,  189,  194-196. 

Idolatry,  108. 

Irrigation,  33,  see  Chenab. 

Jains,  105. 

Jesuit,  142. 

Joahir  Masih,  211. 

Johnson,  S.  E.,  223,  235. 

Judson,  158. 

Kanaya,  213-218. 

Khyber  Pass,  19. 

Kshatriyas,  50. 

Languages,  59-63. 

Lawrence,  92. 

Literacy,  64-70. 

Lockhart,  178. 

London  Missionary  Society,  160,  161, 
169,170. 

Low  Caste,  see  Chuhra. 

Mahmud,  88. 

Mallu,  270-272. 

Marriage,  55. 


Marshman,  156. 

Martin,  S.,  209. 

McCahon,  E.,  209. 

McCandless,  178. 

McCullough,  R.  A.,  209. 

McKee,  J.  P.,  209,  241. 

Medical,  223,  235. 

Megs,  205,  210-218. 

Mendicants,  109. 

Methods  of  work,  see  Educational, 
Evangelistic,  Literary,  Medical. 
Mirali,  221. 

Missions,  General  Survey,  137-173. 
Mohammedanism,  117-127. 
Mohammedan  Period,  87-90. 
Mohammedans,  64,  87,  105,  106. 
Money,  287. 

Monotheism,  121. 

Monsoon,  27. 

Morality,  72,  112,  122. 

Mutiny,  see  Sepoy. 

Nanak  Shah,  90,  127. 

Heed,  274-280. 

Newell,  158. 

Nobili,  144-146. 

Ordained,  natives,  199. 

Oimhanage,  199,  234. 

“Our  India  Mission,”  215. 

Panchayat,  232. 

Pantheism,  109. 

Parsees,  105. 

Pasrur,  222,  236. 

Pathankot,  222. 

Pehlavi,  141. 

People,  41-74. 

Persia,  140 

Persian,  see  Languages. 

Plutschau,  149-151. 

Population,  20,  36,  Appendix  I,  II. 
Prayer,  178,  243-250,  257,  286. 
Presbyterian,  168,  235,  254. 

Press,  97. 

Products,  29. 

Pronunciation,  see  Appendix  IV. 
Punjab,  17,  18,  19,  22. 


312 


INDEX 


Punjab  Census  Report,  112, 125. 

Punjabi,  see  Languages. 

Quarter  Centennial  Anniversary,  222. 

Railways,  33. 

Ranjit  Singh,  91. 

Rawal  Pindi,  235. 

Religions,  105-133. 

Revival  of  1896,  243-250. 

Revival  of  1905,  257-260. 

Richter,  138-168. 

Rivers,  22. 

Robert  de  Nobili,  144-146. 

Rodgers,  178,  179. 

Roman  Catholic,  141-147; 

Sanskrit,  59,  65,  100. 

Schwartz,  152-154. 

Scotch  Mission,  189. 

Scott,  G.  W.,  187,  200,  211. 

Scott,  T.  L.,  209. 

Scythians,  86. 

Self-support,  241,  242,  250,  254. 

Sepoy  Rebellion,  93-95,  190-197. 

Shah  Jahan,  90. 

Shiva,  108. 

Sialkot,  184,  222,  236. 

Sialkot  Convention,  257-260. 

Sialkot  Mission : Beginnings,  177- 
201  ; Years  of  Trial  and  Mumph, 
(1865-80),  201-223;  Period  of  Great 
Accessions  (1881-1893),  227-237; 
Years  of  Adjustment  and  Develop- 
ment (1894-1898),  237-252;  Period 
of  Expansion  and  Quickening](1899- 
1909),  252-261  ; Statistics,  see  Ap- 
pendix III ; Territory,  36. 


Sikhism,  127-130. 

Sikh  Period,  90,  91. 

Sikhs,  64,  105. 

Sin,  Conception  of,  112,  122,  258. 
Statistics,  64,  222,  227,  236,  237,  240, 
251,  252,  269,  275,  see  Appendix. 
Stevenson,  R.  E.,  186. 

Stewart,  R.,  234. 

Subuktagin,  88. 

Sudras,  50,  53. 

Summer  Schools,  248. 

Swift,  E.  P.,  188,  200. 

Taj  Mahal,  90. 

Taxila,  81,  84. 

Theological  Seminary,  234,  244. 
Thomas,  138-139. 

Thomas  Christians,  140,  146. 
Triumph,  Final,  265-290. 

United  Presbyterian  Mission,  see  Si- 
alkot Mission. 

Urdu,  see  Languages. 

Ward,  156,  158. 

Welsh,  M.  E.,  209. 

White,  Maria,  235. 

Woman,  45, 54,  55-58,  70. 

Vedas,  78,  106,  107,  113. 

Vedic  Period,  79-83. 

Vishnu,  108. 

Volunteers,  288-290. 

Xavier,  142-144. 

Zafarwal,  222,  236,  249. 

Ziegenbalg,  149-152. 


MAP  OF  THE  UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  MISSION  FIELD  IN  INDIA. 


EXPLANATIONS : — Main  Mission  Stations  are  in  Capitals  and  Underscored.  Other  large  towns,  not  yet  occupied,  are  in  Capitals.  Large  centers,  in  which  there  are  Christians,  are  marked 
by  cross  within  circle.  Villages,  in  which  there  are  Christians,  are  marked  by  cross  only.  Other  villages  marked  by  small  circle.  The  inset  map,  in  upper  right  hand 
corner,  shows  the  United  Presbyterian  Mission  Field  in  relation  to  the  whole  of  India. 


I 


